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Six female employees filed a grievance in late July with the director of Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory charging that female administrative specialists are underpaid and underpromoted, compared to their male counterparts.

“I’m very disappointed, that with an institution of this stature, we would have these kind of problems in the new millennium,” said procurement specialist Julie Rodriguez Jones, who has worked for LBNL since 1971.

Jones, along with five other female administrative specialists in the LBNL Procurement Department, has filed a grievance with the labs claiming they have been overlooked for promotions and are earning far less than recently-hired male employees whom the women often train to do the same work they do.

In addition the women claim that men receive promotions over women who have seniority.

The women are being represented by the University Professional and Technical Employees Union, which represents technical workers, researchers and administrative personal.

According to a fact sheet compiled by the six women, there are 22 procurement specialists; 12 are women. But according to LBNL salary records, seven of the eight lowest-paid employees in the department are women. In addition, four of the five highest-paid Procurement Department employees are men.

On average, women are paid $650 a month less than male employees. In one case a woman who has 23 years experience on the job is being paid $24,000 a year less than a man who was recently hired.

LBNL spokesperson Ron Kolb said he could not comment on the specific grievances, but did say LBNL does not have discriminatory employment policies.

“We don’t believe we discriminate,” he said. “Our pay policies are established based on market averages, the responsibilities of the task and the individual’s work performance.”

The six women first filed a grievance with their direct manager, Bill Wasson, last June. According to an Aug. 29 union press release, Wasson agreed salary inequities existed, but said he was unable to do anything about the problem, because pay raises had already been scheduled. Wasson rejected the grievance and the administrative specialists took the grievance to the Director’s Office.

According to union steward Matt Kolowski, the issue will now go to arbitration as soon as a third-party arbitrator can be agreed upon, which should be by next week. Kolowski said arbitration is generally used in union-management disputes to avoid costly court cases. He said the arbitration system generally works well if both sides agree to abide by the arbitrator’s decision.

“This is the standard operating procedure,” Kolowski said. “The manager of a department denies a grievance and then the laboratory throws all of its resources behind the manager without determining whether the manager or the employees are right. It seems like there should be a better, less expensive way.”

UPTE Co-director Daniel Martin said LBNL has in-house attorneys and it usually benefits them to put up as many procedural obstacles as possible in the hope the employees will wear out.

“Essentially, they lead their opponents through lots of procedural maneuvers so the party suing essentially gives up because it costs these folks more money and more time than they have available to them,” he said.

Martin said the union is solidly behind the women. He said the union represents 11,000 UC employees and gender discrimination is an important issue to all of them.

“Honestly I think this is just the tip of the iceberg and this issue will likely bring a lot more employees forward who have experienced the same thing,” he said.

Jean Lawther, a 23-year employee who joined in filing the grievance, said she complained about the pay discrepancies to Wasson, her department manager, a year ago. She said she was disappointed nothing had been done despite assurances the situation would be corrected.

“I don’t know where this goes from here,” she said, “but I’m hopeful they’ll see the light and do what’s right.”

Representatives will discuss pending legal cases and technological innovations that may threaten civil liberties and new challenges for consumer protection. Free and open to the public. 642-0499

Berkeley/ Albany Chapter of Church Women United

9:30 a.m.

Berkeley Chinese Community Church

2117 Acton St.

A report of the Milwaukee conference. 526-4303

Saturday, Sept. 8

Watershed Environmental Poetry Festival

10 a.m. - 5 p.m.

Civic Center Park

Martin Luther King Jr. Way at Center Street

A free environmental poetry festival with a day of poetry, music and environmental activism featuring Gary Snyder, Maxine Hong Kingston, Robert Haas, Francisco X. Alarcon, and Earll Kingston as John Wesley Powell. Strawberry Creek Walk at 10 a.m. Oxford and Center. 526-9105 www.poetryflash.org

Youth Arts Studio

2 - 5 p.m.

All Souls Episcopal Parish

2220 Cedar St.

Demonstration classes for after school program in visual arts, creative writing and dramatic arts for students ages 10 - 15. Free. 848-1755

Luna Kids Dance Open House

10 - 11 a.m.

Grace North Church

2138 Cedar

Free open house and parent/ child classes. Designed to give families a shared dance experience that connects body, mind, and soul. Children will have a chance to play fun dance games, refreshments and register for Fall Session. 525-4339 www.lunakidsdnace.com

Pack Right, Travel Smart

1 p.m.

Recreational Equipment

1338 San Pablo Ave.

Eagle Creek Rep will give you tips on how to best organize your gear and clothing for your next adventure. Free. 527-4140

Free Emergency Preparedness Class

10 a.m. - 5 p.m.

812 Page St.

Earthquake retrofitting class. Free to anyone 18 or older who lives or works in Berkeley. 644-8736 www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/fire.oes.html

The languishing farm economy in California has taken its toll on many family farmers. As California’s agricultural sector continues to struggle through a year plagued with energy crisis, low prices and water shortages, sustainable agriculture and organic farming offer realistic, viable solutions.

Investing today’s federal tax dollars in programs that support organic and/or sustainable agricultural production systems will enhance marketing options and provide much needed flexibility for farmers in the future. Farmers as well as entire communities stand to benefit greatly from federal sustainable agriculture programs.

Although severely under-funded, the Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education program, SARE, has worked to strengthen farmer income, enhance consumer trust, increase community involvement and encourage environmental stewardship. The recent successes of AMO Organics, a producer co-op located on the California’s Central Coast, illuminate how SARE funding not only strengthens and enhances agricultural operations but also revitalizes rural and urban communities.

In 1998, a group of Mexican immigrant organic farmers recognized that relying on intermediary distributors caused a significant decrease in their profits. With the aid of a SARE grant, these farmers, now known as AMO Organics, researched and found viable ways to directly market their goods.

By creating Community Supported Agriculture programs, or CSA’s, AMO developed new, alternative channels of distribution. As a result of their SARE grant, AMO has significantly expanded their operations at both the local and regional levels.

According to Diego Vasquez, a founding member of AMO Organics, “Community Supported Agriculture programs, or CSA’s, have allowed us to cater our business to local low-income communities while staying afloat financially.” By signing up to a CSA program, customers receive weekly deliveries of locally grown AMO Organic produce. AMO has gained access to various consumer networks through their special CSA arrangements with local schools and churches. Vasquez notes, “Now we sell our produce to the friends and families of our regular CSA members in nearby school and church parking lots.”

Due to its success in local neighborhoods, AMO now contracts with programs in neighboring urban regions. Recently, the Farm Fresh Choice program in Berkeley began selling AMO crops “produce stand” style at school-age programs in West and South Berkeley, the city’s lowest per-capita income neighborhoods.

Consumers become “members” of Farm Fresh Choice and agree to purchase at least $7 worth of produce per week, similar to the purchase of a weekly box of produce through CSA. However, members are able to select anything they’d like from the Farm Fresh Choice “produce stand,” which has a wide variety of seasonally available produce purchased from AMO Organics and other farmers at the Berkeley Farmers’ Market.

“Farm Fresh Choice was designed to accomplish two goals simultaneously,” notes Josh Miner, co-coordinator of the Berkeley Farm Fresh Choice program. “First, to make fresh, nutritious, locally grown and either organic or sustainably-grown produce more easily accessible and attractive to lower-income families living in the urban Bay Area. Second, to establish direct links between these urban families and farmers of color in Northern California. Farmers like the AMO cooperative can play a critical role in strengthening community food security here in Berkeley.”

As AMO Organics’ success reflects, programs like SARE boost farm profit by securing distribution outlets previously only available to larger conglomerated co-ops, and corporate operations. By lending marketing heft to small, organic growers like AMO, SARE funding also works to increase rural-urban networks and strengthen food security. Although corporate farming remains critically important to this country, we must continue to explore and support methods for nourishing our citizens that include experimentation with local and regional growers, like AMO. SARE is both an effective and efficient vehicle for accomplishing goals.

Unfortunately, last year SARE received less than 1 percent of USDA research and outreach funding. This month a congressional conference committee from both houses will determine the final level of federal agricultural program funding for the upcoming year. It is imperative that our representatives grant SARE and other sustainable agriculture programs budgetary priority.

Emily Franciskovich works with the California Sustainable Agriculture Working Group

From a land where time had more value than money and dreams were haunted by mysterious creatures called djinns came artist, philosopher and pacifist Khalil Bendib.

Today, sitting in the living room of his Berkeley home and studio, Bendib is surrounded by bronze sculptures, colorful mosaics and carefully stacked ceramics that will be on view at the Alliance Francaise Art Gallery in San Francisco, beginning Thursday.

The works reflect his philosophy and the culture of the Maghreb, that part of the North African coast that includes Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia. The centerpiece of the exhibit is a bronze sculpture commemorating El Kahina, a Jewish Berber queen.

“She is still revered in Algeria, a mostly Arab country, as a major national symbol for her fight in the resistance,” said Bendib.

“I learned politics in my mother's milk,” he continued, “and an awareness of a world deeply divided between ‘them and us’.”

Targeted for execution in 1957 by paramilitary French colonialists, Bendib’s parents escaped from Algeria to Morocco, where their son was born.

When as a child Bendib complained to his mother of being bored, she suggested he draw something. His first pictures were a boy’s rendition of soldiers saluting the Algerian flag. Years later, after returning to Algeria, Bendib learned that “good guys and bad guys came in all shapes and colors, from every walk of life.”

He traveled and lived in many countries, learning eight languages along the way and developing his pacifist philosophy.

Inspired by North African cafes, public squares and the seductively slow-paced lifestyle, Bendib creates bronze figurines of reclining or contemplative old men and veiled women.

From childhood memories, such as the legendary djinns, spirits who lived at the bottom of the well in the center of the family courtyard, he has created a whimsical telephone stand supported by a series of djinn heads, each with a different character and facial expression.

He begins each bronze figure by sketching what he calls “an observed attitude,” then watches as it evolves.

“Each character reminds me of someone after I have finished it, not before,” he said looking at the bronze figure of the Berber queen. “Her face is my grandmother.”

Picking up a preliminary model of the figure, he cradles the rich brown wax, working his fingertips into the malleable surface as he describes the complexities of the multistep lost-wax process and the hours spent in a local foundry where the bronze is poured and refined.

It was with a group of artists in Los Angeles that he developed his skills in bronze. Simultaneously, he began studying Japanese at the University of Southern California because he liked the “fluidity of the calligraphy.” While at the university he started work with the student newspaper as a political cartoonist. He learned that people could have differences of opinion and express them freely.

“It was incredible. They let me, a foreign student, make strong political statements in cartoons, without censorship,” he said. Something, he added, that was not possible in “despot-ruled” Algeria.

In 1986 Bendib received death threats in response to his political cartoons after Palestinian Alex M. Odeh, Western regional coordinator of the Anti-Discrimination Committee, was killed as a result of a terrorist action in a suburb of Los Angeles. With his belief in the freedom of the press unshaken, Bendib went to work for a local newspaper for eight years as a cartoonist. The paper gradually developed what he called a “tabloid bias” and became less supportive of his political point of view.

While in Los Angeles he won two public commissions for bronze sculptures. The first was an environmental piece commemorating the loss of habitat of the cougar in the community of Diamond Bar, a few miles east of Los Angeles. The second piece was a commemorative sculpture of Alex M. Odeh. His third commission from the city, to be completed in 2002, is a 13-foot bronze of Cesar Chavez, whom he has admired since his childhood in Algiers.

Looking for a place to live that was reminiscent of his Mediterranean roots, Bendib settled in Berkeley three and a half years ago.

“Fantastic physical beauty was my first impression. I am where I belong,” he said. “There are intellectuals here who question things and think. Being different is not a crime.”

Since coming to Berkeley Bendib has added ceramics to his oeuvre. The bright colors and playful themes of his large display plates feature dancing women, elegant cougars, coffee images and the stylized ‘evil eye’ that wards off misfortune.

“I am passionate about actions that are close to my heart,” he said. “There is a sense of brotherhood and community in Berkeley. I am free.”

The race to succeed state Assemblymember Dion Aroner in 2002 was thrown into chaos on Friday, when an Assembly committee released its statewide proposal for new district boundaries.

So far, Berkeley City Councilmember Kriss Worthington, Oakland Vice Mayor Jane Brunner and West Contra Costa School Board member Charles Ramsey have declared their candidacies for Aroner’s 14th District seat. But the proposed Assembly Redistricting Plan dramatically changes the dynamics of the race – it adds a large, traditionally conservative block to the district and it bumps the home of one current candidate out of the district entirely.

The plan, which may still be revised, but whose broad recommendations are expected to be approved by the Assembly, calls for the 14th District – which already includes Berkeley, Richmond and parts of Oakland – to incorporate the communities of Pleasant Hill, Lafayette, Orinda and Moraga. And unless a complaint by Brunner is acted upon, the new district will not include her Rockridge home.

The new plan proposes that the boundary between the 14th and 16th districts be drawn down Woolsey Street, a block and a half to the north of her residence.

Brunner appeared before the Assembly’s Committee on Elections, Reapportionment and Constitutional Amendments Tuesday to ask that the proposed district line near the Oakland-Berkeley border be moved north two blocks.

“A week ago, I was told that my house would be in (the district),” said Brunner in a telephone interview from Sacramento. “Then the map came out, and it wasn’t in.”

“It shocked me. I’ve lived in the same house for 25 years, and it’s always been part of the 14th district.”

Brunner said that over the weekend, members of state Sen. John Burton’s office told her that the line had been drawn specifically to exclude her. However, she says, she doesn’t know who on the committee would wish to harm her political career.

“I think the circumstantial evidence would lead to the conclusion that someone wanted to keep her out,” said Bruce Cain, director of the Institute at Governmental Studies at UC Berkeley. “However, the committee has to make hundreds of these little decisions about where to place a line, and it’s possible that it wasn’t done on purpose.”

Kam Kuwata, the spokesperson for the committee and for the entire state redistricting process, said that given the openness of the redistricting process, he did not believe that crass political moves were possible.

“This has been the most open political process in California history,” he said. “The committee put in many, many hours on this. We have been working on it for months. We’ve been taking public testimony, we’ve gotten hundreds of comments over the Internet.”

“It is still a work in progress, but in any redistricting process, you can never meet the expectations of every aspiring political candidate.”

Brunner said that whether or not the committee acts on her request, she will live in the 14th District at the next Assembly elections in 2002.

“If I can’t get the line moved, I will move myself,” she said. “My son is looking for a place right now. Either I will move in with him, or we will trade houses.”

Over 90,000 people in the new 14th District – around a quarter of the total – will live east of the hills. According to Cain, that will hurt progressive candidates – especially since the newcomers have typically turned out at the polls in greater numbers.

“It’s still an overwhelmingly Democratic district, but these new lines will help the moderates,” he said. “It’s a blow to Kriss Worthington.”

Cain said that it was too early to prognosticate about the case, but that he expected that the more mainstream candidate Charles Ramsey, would benefit most by the redistricting plan.“Of course, you may see people from (east of the hills) jump in now,” he added. The deadline for candidates to declare their candidacy in time for the state primary election is Dec. 7.

Worthington denied that his campaign would be hindered by the new boundaries.

“I really think the idea that the Orinda-Moraga-Lafayette area is a bastion of conservatism is decades out of date,” he said. “I don’t think the people out there are living in some medieval fortress of right-wing ideals. They are actually far more intelligent and sophisticated than some people who live in Berkeley.”

Asked to comment about his opponent’s dilemma, Worthington said: “That’s a non-issue. When corporations have contributed tens of thousands of dollars to your campaign, you can always get a new house.”

“When you’re the corporate candidate, it doesn’t really matter where you live,” he added.

Every 10 years, government bodies at the local, state and federal level must redraw their political maps in response to new census data. Since the population of the East Bay grew less than the state as a whole over the last decade, its state-level offices must cover a larger area.

When my children used to go to LeConte Elementary School, it was such a happy place that I jokingly accused its principal, Barbara Penny-James, of coming early each morning and sprinkling the school with pixie dust!

Now my daughter is at Berkeley High and, frankly, I was expecting the worst! To my surprise and delight, however, Berkeley High is also a happy place.

The staff, the counselors, the teachers – they are all positive and helpful and out to do a good job. They are professionals and seem to really care about their students.

On the first day of school, I noticed that wherever glitches arose – and there were a lot of them – there was Principal Frank Lynch, out in the thick of things, trying to help out each individual student.

Lynch was not back in his office hiding behind a desk. He was out taking positive measures to get things headed in a productive direction.

Yes, there is pixie dust present at Berkeley High School.

BHS has the capacity to become one our community’s greatest assets and is heading in that direction with or without us. Let’s stand behind BHS – the better it serves its students, the more the city of Berkeley benefits by having a factory of excellence pouring quality citizens into our town so that we too can continue to blossom and shine.

There is only one correction I would like to suggest at Berkeley High: Staggered lunch periods would be nice. Then our very own Factory of Excellence wouldn’t be pouring quality citizens into our community all at once every day at noon. Plus the students wouldn’t have to wait in line forever to get dollar Chinese!

Elizabeth Rosner says she was “the child who asked a lot of questions, always trying to fill in the gaps and mystery” of her parents’ experiences during the Holocaust.

Rosner’s first novel, “The Speed of Light,” is the result of having had such an abundance of grief and scarcity of answers.

Calling her book an “emotional autobiography,” Rosner put into prose what has always before, for her, existed either in silence or in poetry.

Rosner’s last publication was “Gravity,” an autobiographical poetry chapbook.

In “The Speed of Light,” three characters are haunted by the tragedies of the past. Julian and Paula Perel, the orphaned children of a Holocaust survivor, live in contiguous apartments. But while Julian is a recluse with 11 televisions who does everything in his power not to “feel,” using concepts from Newtonian physics to calm himself and to keep his world feeling controlled and predictable, his sister Paula takes off to sing opera.

Following the command of her singing teacher to “never look back,” and believing that “only one of us could make it out alive,” Paula leaves Julian behind. Do not be misled, though, for Paula feels just as much fear as Julian. In evocative prose Rosner describes Paula’s state of mind:

“Here is what I know how to do: How to get away. How to save myself by taking flight, by vanishing. My voice was a ticket of escape, one way to be anywhere but where I was.”

Stepping in as Julian’s only source of human warmth while Paula is gone is a “cola-skinned” cleaning woman named Sola, who is herself a survivor of trauma caused by the political situation in Central America. At first Sola doesn’t want to take on the disorder of Paula’s existence. Like many “first generation” survivors, Sola does not consciously dwell on the past, and she does not become introspective about the present. In fact, she has trouble feeling emotions at all. Even so, Sola’s thoughts filter through the narrative like a cleansing rain. Sola’s quick-witted and grounded state of mind is an excellent portrayal of the kind of single-minded and one-dimensional sense of purpose that can help a person to survive. Sola stays in the moment as much as possible:

“I want to clean myself like the window of a house, make myself clean for things to pass through ... Flat and quiet.”

For both Paula and Julian, though, there is no beginning and no end to their sense of hurt, and no way to feel that they’ve survived trauma. Their father’s experience as a sonderkommando (his job was to take the dead from the concentration camp ovens) fill them like blood, and are a nightmare they can’t escape.

Talking about family secrets and inherited grief can be excruciating.

But, apparently, not talking is worse.

In “The Speed of Light,” every sensation and every realization of each of the characters is talked about at length, laid bare, put into “stop time” and under a microscope – as though such intensity could have the power to restore life, to fix the broken violins of their souls.

This story is not linear, but it does brilliantly express what it feels like to live in a glass bubble filled with a boundless grief. Helpless to change the past, these “second generation” characters spend their entire lives afraid to feel, unable to trust, every action an impotent and insatiable keening. They are going nowhere, as Rosner describes moving through the infinity of space and loss at the speed of light.

Sari Friedman teaches writing at local colleges, is at work on a novel, and can be reached at literate2@yahoo.com.

Busloads of East Bay nurses will join an estimated 2,000 colleagues from around the state at a rally in Sacramento Thursday to demand that the state sharply limit the number of patients assigned to them.

Under a 1999 state law intended to improve nurses’ working conditions, the State Department of Health Services must establish maximum ratios of patients to nurses in over a dozen categories of hospital care by Jan. 1, 2002. The DHS, which was to issue preliminary guidelines last spring under the law’s terms, has yet to announce a plan or schedule public hearings. As the clock winds down, nurses’ unions and the health care industry are vying fiercely to persuade the agency – and Gov. Gray Davis, who must sign off on a final plan – to adopt widely divergent schemes.

“The nurses, who have the most direct experience with how many patients at what degree of seriousness can actually be served by a nurse without compromising their safety, would want the ratios to be as low as possible,” said state Sen. Sheila Kuehl, D-Los Angeles, who sponsored the legislation.

“The hospitals, which maintain that they cannot afford the very lowest ratios and also maintain that there are not sufficient nurses to meet low ratios, are requesting higher ratios,” she said. “The administration, including the DHS, has the unenviable task of establishing ratios that are both safe and affordable.”

The law, signed by Gov. Gray Davis on Oct. 10, 1999, also restricts nurses from wards for which they are not properly trained, and prohibits using unlicensed personnel for sensitive tasks such as medicating and patient education.

State health care regulations in place for over 20 years already require one nurse for every two patients in intensive care. The California Nurses’ Association, one of two unions advocating low ratios, wants a three-patient limit for nurses in emergency, pediatrics and telemetry (remote monitoring of vital signs, mainly for cardiac conditions ), and one patient per nurse during labor and delivery.

By contrast, the California Healthcare Association, a medical industry group, advocates an upper limit of six patients per nurse in emergency and pediatrics, and 10 per patient in telemetry. Under the DHS guidelines, three mothers giving birth would share one nurse, and up to 12 mental health patients could be assigned to one nurse, compared to four under the CNA’s proposal.

In pediatric intermediate care, the union envisions a maximum of three children per nurse. The industry association calls for six.

“Now how would you like your brand new baby to be taken care of, if there was something a little bit wrong that required a critical care nursery, by a nurse who had five other people?” said Sharon Blaschka, a nurse at Alta Bates Hospital in Berkeley who said she would attend the rally along with about 80 others from the area.

“Setting up ratios like this that are so huge is just going to destroy an already unstable health care system, and it’s going to run the nurses into the ground,” Blaschka said.

“I think the greater issues here are working with the nursing schools and making sure that more nurses enter the field,” said Carolyn Kemp, spokesperson for Alta Bates-Summit Medical Center. “The graying of the profession is what we’re all dealing with right now.”

Jan Emerson, spokesperson for the California Healthcare Association, a medical industry group, cited Department of Labor statistics that California has only 566 nurses per 100,000 inhabitants, compared to a national average of 798. The industry, she said, is supporting a Senate bill that would allocate $120 million annually to help train 4,000 more nurses per year throughout the state.

Emerson warned that the law could result in curtailed patient access to health care.

“If CNA’s ratios were adopted, 95 percent of hospitals in California would not be in compliance,” she said. “If a hospital cannot meet (the requirements), the only enforcement mechanism the state has is to close it down” if repeated citations produced no result, she said.

Kay McVay, president of the California Nurses Association, said that lowering nurse-to-patient ratios would help the industry to save money and provide better care by reducing both turnover and costly temporary workers.

“I believe that if we get the ratios we’re requesting we’ll be able to provide more access than we’re providing now,” McVay said.

“The hospital industry needs to realize they would have better outcomes, their costs would be cut and they would probably experience better financial gains if they adopted a richer RN-to-patient ratio.”

Both sides agree that the current crisis stems from cost-cutting measures implemented in the early 1990s at the advent of managed care.

“The nursing shortage is a direct result of that initial activity by HMOs to get business by reducing prices,” said Carol Wallisch, chief of staff to state Sen. Sheila Kuehl. “So now they’re stuck with nurses not wanting to be nurses anymore and having huge workloads, and it’s really tough. (HMOs have) gotten themselves in a terrible position now. Nurses are just exhausted.”

Emerson, the California Healthcare Association spokesperson, said that about 10 years ago, when insurers began implementing a monthly flat-fee system called “capitation,” hospitals had to cut back to a “bare minimum” of staff or face going out of business.

“So, 20-20 hindsight. If we could do things differently we would, but that’s not about today.”

The California Nurses Association rally will take place at the State Capitol Thursday from noon to 2 p.m.

FAIRFIELD (AP) — Teachers were back in class after a tentative two-year contract agreement was reached over the Labor Day weekend.

Details of the agreement, struck Monday, were to be presented to the 1,300 Fairfield-Suisun school district teachers at an informational meeting Tuesday afternoon. Both sides declined to discuss the details until after that meeting.

The teachers will vote on the contract Friday.

If they ratify it, the school board will vote on the contract Sept. 13.

Going into the weekend negotiations, the Fairfield district had been offering teachers a 10 percent increase retroactive to the beginning of last year, and a 5.3 percent increase this year. Teachers wanted 6.4 percent for this year.

Tuesday was the first day of school for two-thirds to three-quarters of the district’s 22,500 students, while the rest have already been attending classes in year-round schools. A nine-day walkout in May disrupted the last two weeks of school last year.

A shooting near the corner of King and Harmon streets sent a 16-year-old male to Children’s Hospital in Oakland, according to Berkeley Police Lt. Cynthia Harris.

The Police Department received numerous phone calls just before midnight on Friday evening, reporting gunshots in South Berkeley.

According to Lt. Harris, when officers responded to the calls they did not find any victims, but did find four bullet casings. Saturday morning police received a call from Children’s Hospital notifying them that the gunshot victim was in their care.

There are no suspects at this time, but an investigation is under way.

SAN FRANCISCO — The threat of a BART strike may not be over, as a third union awaits a court decision to either extend or revoke a restraining order that prevents it from striking.

If the San Francisco Superior Court judge releases the union from the order, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, Local 3993 could still strike on Wednesday. The two unions that reached a tentative agreement Tuesday with BART have pledged to honor AFSCME’s picket lines, which would leave BART commuters to find alternatives.

James Bunker, an executive board member of Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1555, said his union and the Service Employees International Union Local 790 would have to meet among themselves to decide further action if AFSCME strikes. AFSCME represents BART’s 240 managers and supervisors.

Norma Del Mercado, president of AFSCME, said BART placed a restraining order on the union to prevent them from striking while the negotiations with ATU and SEIU were ongoing. She said she expected the judge to extend the restraining order to either Oct. 5 or Oct. 15.

“But if we’re released from the order, that would put us in a position where we could strike,” she said.

Del Mercado said she was frustrated with BART’s hold on negotiations with AFSCME.

“We’ve been trying to negotiate with them since May,” Del Mercado said. “They’ve put us on a holding period, and we have issues that are very different (from the other two unions) that we need to discuss.”

Del Mercado said her union’s concerns include the right to protect their jobs and to establish pay parity.

“We’re on salary, not an hourly rate,” she said. “If you look at our pay scales, only seven people in our union fall under the acceptable range of what they should be earning.”

If the restraining order is extended, Del Mercado said the union would be prepared to strike in October if an agreement with BART isn’t reached by then.

The tentative agreement between BART and ATU and SEIU officials may include wage and pension increases of more than 20.5 percent over four years, according to Bob Smith, president of the ATU.

“It’s not an overly generous proposal by the district,” he said, “but we’re satisfied.”

Union members, who were prepared to walk off the job at midnight Wednesday, now are expected to vote on the new contract Sunday or Monday.

The unions were seeking a 20.5 percent wage increase over three years, and BART was offering an 18.5 percent raise over four years. Smith would not say exactly how much higher than 20.5 percent the agreed-upon raise would be.

LOS ANGELES — A contract signed before anyone knew billions would be made selling bioengineered drugs is at the heart of a $400 million legal dispute between a pharmaceutical company and the research center whose work led to several key patents.

The 1976 contract, between South San Francisco-based Genentech Inc. and the City of Hope National Medical Center in Duarte, provided that Genentech would fund research at the City of Hope’s Beckman Research Institute. In return, Genentech would own whatever patents would be issued and would pay the hospital a 2 percent royalty on the sales of certain drugs resulting from the research.

During opening arguments Tuesday in Los Angeles Superior Court, the lead attorney from City of Hope alleged Genentech concealed licenses with drug companies over the 25 years of the deal to avoid paying about $340 million in royalties. Genentech owes the hospital more than $400 million, including interest, the hospital argued.

Lawyer Morgan Chu, who represents the hospital, said he would present evidence of “a string of broken promises by the defendant, Genentech.”

Genentech’s lead attorney, Susan Harriman, said City of Hope only brought the lawsuit when it became worried because royalties from Genentech would stop when the patents expired in a few years.

“Genentech has paid City of Hope every penny it was owed ... ,” Harriman said. “City of Hope was extremely well compensated for its work.”

At issue are drugs involved in the production of human insulin and growth hormones made possible in part by work done by City of Hope researchers Arthur Riggs and Keiichi Itakura.

Many credit them as the first to synthesize human insulin through techniques that since have been used to create some of the building blocks of biotech, including a hepatitis B vaccine.

Chu said Genentech hid 27 licensing agreements it made with pharmaceutical companies to make drugs based on City of Hope’s research. When hospital officials discovered the problem in 1998, Genentech tried to reinterpret the 1976 agreement to limit when royalties would have to be paid, Chu said.

The key dispute is whether DNA actually made in City of Hope laboratories must be used in the creation of drugs in order to trigger royalty payments to the hospital.

City of Hope argued Tuesday that Genentech is profiting from patents based on its discoveries and must pay royalties anytime Genentech licenses those patents to a drug company.

Genentech, which posted sales of $1.7 billion last year, argued that City of Hope was an independent contractor hired to produce strands of DNA as well as research. Therefore, the company only owes royalties on drugs made possible both by the patents and the DNA made by City of Hope.

Harriman said she would show during the trial that City of Hope should have known about the “concealed” licenses because they were mentioned in company documents, including press releases, annual reports and filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Among those receiving reports from the company, which went public in 1980, were two of its largest shareholders — City of Hope scientists Riggs and Itakura.

SAN JOSE — The lyrical pop-song question “Do You Know the Way To San Jose,” may soon have a new answer — the Norman Y. Mineta Airport.

San Jose City Council members voted unanimously on Tuesday to name the city’s international airport after U.S. Secretary of Transportation Norm Mineta, who also served as mayor of San Jose from 1971 to 1974.

Mineta was the first Asian American to serve on the U.S. cabinet when he was named secretary of commerce by President Bill Clinton.

“Norm Mineta has provided exemplary service to San Jose, and this (dedication) is to respect his many years of work for the city,” said David Vossprink, of the San Jose Mayor Ron Gonzales’ office. “As a Japanese-American, he has broken many race barriers at every level of public office he has held.”

Vossprink added that Mineta has a strong interest in aviation and has several years of experience as a pilot.

Gonzales announced the name proposal two weeks ago, when Mineta was visiting San Jose International Airport for a runway dedication. The city council’s staff will take over procedures regarding the renaming with the Federal Aviation Administration and the San Jose Airport Commission. That process could take about a month, Vossprink said.

The city council will take a final vote to grant approval for the change.

WASHINGTON — Texas Republican Phil Gramm said Tuesday he will leave the Senate at the end of his third term next year, following fellow conservatives Jesse Helms and Strom Thurmond into retirement and closing out a career as an unflinching advocate of lower taxes and less government.

“I have always been happy with the tax cuts I’ve supported,” Gramm said at a news conference where he sometimes grew emotional. He quickly added, “I still believe that government is too big, too powerful and too expensive and too intrusive,” and he urged a capital gains tax cut this fall.

Gramm, 59, said he has made no plans for life after politics. A former economics professor at Texas A&M, he sidestepped questions about the school’s presidency, which is vacant.

Gramm is the third Republican senator to disclose plans to retire in 2002. Helms, 79, of North Carolina, announced last month that his fifth term would be his last. Thurmond, of South Carolina, is 98 and near the end of a remarkable career in politics that spans more than seven decades.

A fourth Republican, Sen. Fred Thompson of Tennessee, has yet to declare his intentions, raising the possibility that Republicans may have to defend four open seats next year, at a time when they are trying to regain the majority. In all, there are 21 Republican seats on the ballot in 2002, compared to 14 for the Democrats, all of whose incumbents are expected to seek new terms.

Democrats currently control the Senate, 50-49, with one independent, Sen. James Jeffords of Vermont, who caucuses with them.

“It’s really the end of an era with Thurmond and Helms and Gramm leaving,” said Charles Black, a Republican political consultant close to the Texan.

Together, the three men have nearly a century of service in the Senate, and Black added, “They all played a key role in the Reagan revolution and what Reagan was able to accomplish.”

Gramm was elected to the House in 1978 as a Democrat. Appointed to the House Budget Committee by fellow Democrats in 1981, he worked secretly with Republicans to pass then-President Reagan’s budget, with tax and spending cuts and a big increase in the Pentagon’s budget. The landmark spending-cut legislation carries his name.

Later stripped of his committee assignment, he resigned his House seat following re-election. He promptly won it back as a Republican in a special election in 1983, then used it as a springboard to the Senate in 1984. He has been easily elected ever since, and was a safe bet for re-election next year.

But his brand of politics proved unsuccessful outside the state. A run for the GOP presidential nomination collapsed in 1996 when he finished fifth in the leadoff Iowa caucuses.

At the same time, Gramm steadily gathered influence inside the Senate GOP. As chairman of the Senate campaign committee, he helped usher in the GOP majority in the 1994 elections. A few months later, he helped Sen. Trent Lott — now the GOP leader, but then a back bencher — challenge successfully for a leadership post. He and Lott have been close allies since.

Gramm has been a relentless foe of big government, willing to clash with Democrats and Republicans alike on the subject. Last year, he roiled Republican waters by insisting on additional spending cuts before signing on to a GOP budget blueprint.

Chairman of the Banking Committee until Democrats gained a Senate majority this year, he also played important roles in passing comprehensive banking legislation, which President Clinton signed into law, as well as a bankruptcy bill still pending.

At his news conference, Gramm made use of his trademark folksy rhetoric and biting partisanship. He said he had called Dicky Flatt — a Mexia, Texas, printer whom he frequently cites as an example of the voters who “do the work, pay the taxes and pull the wagon” in Texas.

As for the Democrats, he dismissed their criticism that President Bush’s tax cut was eroding federal surpluses. “I mean, these are the same people that for the next three months are going to be screaming for more spending. I don’t understand how politically they can possibly gain from what they’re doing,” he said.

He also allowed another side of his personality to show, pausing repeatedly, his eyes red-rimmed, as he reflected on the toll a quarter-century in public life had taken on his family.

Gramm said he was leaving because he had helped accomplish all that he had set out to do. He mentioned balancing the budget, cutting taxes, reforming welfare, rolling back Communism. “I am proud to be able to say today that not only did I fight for these things, not only did I play a leadership role in each and every one, but that in a very real sense, 25 years later these goals have been achieved.”

Gramm said he was completely confident his successor would be a Republican, but Democrats hastened to dispute that. “The Texas Senate race, until this morning considered to be a seat safely in Republican hands, has now become a battleground state,” said Sen. Patty Murray of Washington, head of the Democratic campaign committee.

Several names surfaced as potential candidates.

Among Republicans, they included Rep. Henry Bonilla and three statewide elected officials, John Cornyn, the attorney general; Tony Garza, railroad commissioner, and David Dewhurst, land commissioner. Potential Democratic contenders included Rep. Ken Bentsen; former Rep. John Bryant; Dallas Mayor Ron Kirk and former state Attorney General Dan Morales.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Mint warned collectors of its new American buffalo commemorative silver dollars Tuesday to make sure they bought the real thing.

As replicas of the popular silver dollars have been made by private companies, confusion among collectors has arose, the Mint said.

The buffalo coin made by the Mint and authorized by Congress contains a number of features collectors should look for, the Mint said. They are: the year 2001 and the artist’s initial “F” for James Earle Fraser on the front of the coin, which features the face of an American Indian. On the back is an image of a buffalo, the one dollar denomination and the mark “P” for Philadelphia, where the coin was made.

Images on the Mint’s buffalo silver dollars are not protected by copyright, and therefore are susceptible to copying by private mints, the Mint said.

All 500,000 of the Mint’s coins quickly sold out.

A decision hasn’t been made on whether another 500,000 should be made. The Mint sold the coins for as much as $33 a piece, with $10 from each sale going to the Smithsonian Institution to build a National Museum of the American Indian.

People generally buy such coins to collect them. However, the Mint’s commemorative coins also are legal tender, meaning people could choose to spend them.

In one instance, an owner of a Mint-made buffalo silver dollar returned it to the Mint, claiming that a private company, the National Collector’s Mint, sold the same item for $9.95, the Mint said.

The Mint said the majority of consumer inquiries it has received involving replicas of the buffalo silver dollars stem from advertisements made by the National Collector’s Mint.

KLAMATH FALLS, Ore. — Claiming their civil rights were violated by a policeman warning of violence over shutting off water to farmers, two environmentalists filed claims Tuesday against the city for $100,000 each.

Because Lt. Jack Redfield was in uniform and backed by other police officers when he mentioned Andy Kerr and Wendell Wood by name, it appeared he had the backing of the city when he made the July 25 speech, attorney Gary K. Kahn wrote in a letter to the city.

“In the course of my actions as an environmentalist, I have received death threats on a regular basis, but never by someone in a police officer’s uniform,” Kerr said.

Wood is a field representative of the Oregon Natural Resources Council, which has been working on behalf of fish and wildlife in the Klamath Basin. Kerr is a consultant working with ONRC to develop support for a federal buyout of basin farmers to reduce water demand.

If the claim is not resolved satisfactorily, a lawsuit may be filed, Kerr said. Any money from the claim would be given to Indian and commercial fishermen hurt by diversion of water from the Klamath River to irrigate farms on the Klamath Project.

“The city needs to be accountable for actions of its employees. (Redfield) was on city time, in a city uniform and escorted by other city employees,” Kerr said.

City Attorney Rick Whitlock said the city will refer the claim to its insurance carrier.

Faced with a severe drought, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation shut off water to most of the Klamath Project irrigation system last April to meet water levels set by federal biologists in Upper Klamath Lake for endangered suckers and flows down the Klamath River for threatened coho salmon.

Redfield and a retinue of Klamath Falls police officers were delivering a beef raised on Redfield’s ranch to a barbecue celebrating a limited release of water to farmers on the Klamath Project irrigation system when he put on a white cowboy hat and read his speech.

“It won’t take much from Andy Kerr or Wendell Wood or their like to spark an extremely violent response,” Redfield said in the speech. “I am talking about rioting, homicides, destruction of property like dams that hold the precious water from the agricultural community.”

Police officers with Redfield said they had not been aware he intended to make the speech. Redfield was put on paid administrative leave until last week, when he returned to duty.

Though confrontations have been tense at times between protesters and federal police guarding headgates controlling releases from Upper Klamath Lake, there have been no arrests directly related to the irrigation situation.

SACRAMENTO (AP) — Breast-feeding mothers would get breaks and an appropriate room to express milk at work for their infants at home under a bill sent to the governor Tuesday.

“This bill declares that mothers who are breast-feeding will not be denied break time nor be forced to express breast milk in a bathroom stall or supply closet,” said the author, Assemblyman Dario Frommer, D-Los Angeles.

The bill would require employers to give lactating mothers break time and provide an appropriate room so they can express their breast milk. The break could be unpaid if it does not coincide with regular rest periods.

SACRAMENTO (AP) — Law firms that work for the state would have to attempt to provide a certain amount of free legal services to the poor under a bill approved Tuesday by the Senate.

The measure would require that when the state pays a firm more than $50,000 for legal services the firm would have to a “good faith effort” to do a minimum amount of pro bono work for the indigent or certain types of organizations.

Failure to make that effort could result in non-renewal of the state contract.

Other factors being equal, law firms with a history of doing pro bono work would have an edge in obtaining a state contract, according to a Senate analysis of the bill by Assemblyman Darrell Steinberg, D-Sacramento.

Sen. Sheila Kuehl, D-Santa Monica, said the bill was an attempt to encourage law firms to provide more pro-bono services.

According to a recent magazine survey, the number of hours of pro-bono work done by lawyers at the nation’s largest law firms has declined since 1992.

Sen. Ray Haynes, a Riverside Republican and an attorney, complained there was too narrow a limit on the type of pro-bono services that would qualify under the bill, saying the work he used to do for a soccer organization wouldn’t be covered by the measure.

“You ought to be allowed to pursue pro bono as you see fit, not as the Legislature sees fit, in order to qualify for state contracts,” he said.

But Kuehl said the bill’s definition of pro bono was “broad enough to include all communities and groups.”

A 21-12 vote returned the bill to the Assembly for a vote on Senate amendments.

SAN FRANCISCO — Nearly five years after California voters approved Proposition 209 banning affirmative action, a state appeals court Tuesday declared invalid a host of race- and gender-based government hiring programs.

The decision by the Sacramento-based 3rd District Court of Appeal came as little surprise, as voters in 1996 passed Proposition 209 demanding a color-blind state government. Voters said California should not consider race, gender and economic background when deciding who to hire or to award contracts.

“We are heartened by this strong ruling for equal rights,” said Anthony T. Caso, vice president of the Pacific Legal Foundation, which brought the suit.

The three-judge panel voided race-based “goals and timetables” for hiring minorities and women at the California Community College District and among the state’s civil service work force. The panel also nullified a state lottery and a treasury office rule demanding that some contracts be awarded to the “socially and economically disadvantaged.”

“By any reckoning, this constitutes the use of hiring preferences,” Justice Arthur G. Scotland wrote in the 3-0 opinion.

The attorney general’s office, which argued on behalf of the state’s programs, was mulling its next move, spokesman Nathan Barankin said.

If the state takes its case to the California Supreme Court, it may get the cold shoulder. The high court in November invalidated a San Jose ordinance requiring government contractors to solicit bids from companies owned by women and minorities.

The state Supreme Court said San Jose’s ordinance violated Proposition 209, which bans state government from discriminating against or granting “preferential treatment to any individual or group on the basis of race, sex, color, ethnicity or national origin in the operation of public employment, public education or public contracting.”

SAN JOSE — About 80 of the 6,000 employees Cisco Systems laid off in April have found a good reason to hold their heads high at a time when many suddenly unemployed tech workers are having a tough time coping.

In lieu of severance, they agreed to work for a year at homeless shelters, food banks and other charities, earning just a third of their Cisco salaries but keeping their benefits and stock plans.

It doesn’t cost the nonprofits anything and the workers get an inside shot if Cisco starts hiring again.

“When I go to parties I don’t hang my head in shame. People are actually interested in what I’m doing,” said Evan Miller, a database engineer installing a fund-raising database at Second Harvest Food Bank in San Jose. “It feels a lot like a good high-tech job.”

Database engineer Tam Do, 45, is teaching the homeless computer and resume-writing skills at a San Jose shelter through the Cisco Community Fellowship Program, a pilot project the company started this year.

“The reason I took this opportunity is ... I got a lot of help from the government in the beginning,” said Do, who came to the United States as a Vietnamese refugee in 1979. “So I think this is a good time for me to pay back the community.”

National experts on nonprofits say Cisco is the first major company they know of to pay laid-off employees partial salaries while they work for charities.

“It certainly sets an example for other companies and we hope others pick up on it,” said Pat Reed, spokesperson for Washington, D.C.-based Independent Sector, which tracks nonprofit groups and trends in giving and volunteering.

Other corporations help non-profits through “loaned executive” programs at no cost to the agencies. In the Bay Area, Microsoft, IBM, Federal Express, and the city of San Jose have all loaned at least one employee at full salary to United Way and its member agencies for two months to one year, said Greg Larson, United Way of Silicon Valley president.

At Second Harvest, Miller will earn one-third of his former salary — about $34,000 — through next July. But Miller and his family get to keep Cisco’s benefits and his stock will remain fully vested during that time.

When the year elapses, the employees will receive an additional two months of salary at the one-third rate and will be considered internal candidates for any jobs that become available, though there are no guarantees they will be rehired.

“This allows us to go in and bring a level of Internet usage to non-profits that (previously only) corporate America has enjoyed,” said Mike Yutrzenka, who directs the Cisco fellowship program.

About 20 nonprofit groups in the Bay Area and elsewhere are now hosting several former Cisco employees each. About 40 percent are in northern California; the rest are scattered across the country, Yutrzenka said.

He said participants were chosen who had “a passion to benefit others in their own community and represent Cisco well.” The program also sought employees with a developed set of computer skills that could meet the needs of a particular nonprofit.

The day after accountant Sandra Hodgin, 26, was laid-off, she went to Cisco’s Career Action Center, which offers counseling and outplacement services.

She could have taken the severance package, which included 60-day notice pay and four months’ salary — an amount equal to what the program’s participants will earn working full-time at the nonprofits for the year.

Hodgin had to rent out her condo, move back in with her parents and take a second job on weekends to afford the program, which has her implementing a new online accounting database for InnVision, a group of shelters.

“I figured this was the perfect time for me to do something like this,” she said, “since I’m not married and I don’t have any kids.”

Many laid-off tech workers have had tough luck finding new jobs — a prospect these volunteers have put off, for a year at least.

“I haven’t thought about what happens after this whole thing is over — not yet,” Miller said. “It’s a little early and I’m enjoying myself a little too much. Besides, he said, “the economy could change.’

DURBAN, South Africa — Desperate to save the U.N. racism conference, the European Union and South Africa joined forces Tuesday to try resolving the language dispute that prompted a walkout by the United States and Israel.

References to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict were temporarily removed from a draft declaration while the South Africans formulated substitute language, said Mary Robinson, the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights.

She insisted Tuesday that the dispute has not derailed the World Conference Against Racism.

“There is a good sense that we are back on course,” said Robinson, who organized the gathering.

The South Africans, the European Union and the Arab League met throughout the day Tuesday and were expected to continue talks until as late as Friday, the last day of the conference.

In the original text, Israel is the only nation singled out for condemnation. Among the sticking points were references to the “racist practice of Zionism,” and description of the movement to establish and maintain a Jewish state as an ideology “based on racial superiority.”

The United States and Israel — which boycotted racism conferences in 1978 and 1983 — had warned they would pull out if language in the proposed final declaration singled out Israel for criticism.

The Europeans sought swift drafting of a brief text that voiced support for both sides in the Mideast conflict, said Olivier Alsteens, spokesman for Belgian Foreign Minister Louis Michel, the EU representative.

He said the European Union said it had no current plans to leave the conference. But if it did, it would do so as a bloc, along with the union’s 13 candidate states, Alsteens said.

The EU said it was committed to making progress on the Mideast section of the declaration but if no headway is made, countries disagreeing with the language could reject particular sections while accepting the rest.

“We are not starting the negotiations with an eye on their failure. Europe really wants success even if we think that it will be very, very difficult,” Alsteens said.

Amr Moussa, secretary-general of the Arab League, said a final declaration would be “meaningless” if there are no specific references to Israeli policies toward the Palestinians.

Nearly a year of Mideast fighting has left peace efforts in shambles.

Moussa denied American accounts that it was Arab inflexibility that broke down efforts to find a new compromise text in initial attempts led by Norway.

“No, no, no. I believe the inflexibility was shown by the withdrawal (of the U.S. and Israel) 31/2 days before the end of the conference,” he said.

South African Foreign Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, who is writing the compromise draft, said discussions were on track and that she did not think other countries would leave.

“I’m not going to be pushed into ultimatums and all that because it is not conducive to negotiations,” Dlamini-Zuma said.

In a statement released in Durban on Monday, Secretary of State Colin Powell, who had stayed on Washington, denounced “hateful language” in the draft declaration and announced he was recalling the delegation.

Jewish delegations at the conference announced Tuesday they were pulling out as well.

And a coalition of Jewish groups also was among non-governmental organizations that refused to sign a final statement from NGOs.

Anti-Israel language in the declaration of the NGO conference on racism included references to genocide and ethnic cleansing by the Jewish state.

According to an eastern European bloc of non-governmental organizations, 57 of 166 NGOs rejected the text.

Robinson told a news conference Tuesday that because of the text’s “hurtful” language, this was the first time she was not recommending the NGO document as a model to the coinciding U.N. meeting.

“Is this the home of the sordid and sundry poets?” asked Julian Waller upon arriving at the Bay Area Poets Coalition’s seventh annual Labor Day potluck picnic and reading. Held in Live Oak Park, the cozy gathering was a way for an eclectic group of local poets and poetry aficionados to bond over poetry, food and conversation.

John Rowe, BAPC president, said, “we try to support community poetry and welcome everyone to our events.” In addition to the Labor Day party, BAPC hosts monthly readings and publishes “Poetalk,” a quarterly magazine that accepts submissions, as well as an annual anthology in which every member gets a page.

Rowe first joined BAPC in 1988 when he won third prize in the contest. “It was my first recognition,” Rowe said. “It was a big thing for me.”

Since then “I always enjoyed getting ‘Poetalk’ in my mailbox and feeling like a part of a community of poets,” Rowe said. On Saturday, BAPC elected Rowe president for the fourth consecutive year, “our Franklin Roosevelt,” one member called him.

The group also holds an annual poetry contest with cash prizes. “They’re not big prizes, but we’ve hung in a lot longer than a lot of other organizations,” said treasurer Maggi Meyer.

Meyer first began taking poetry classes at age 60. Twenty-five years later, she has self-published six books of her poetry. “Once I got started, I really rolled in,” she said.

She published her most recent book, “Come Along,” several years ago. “I write them. I type them. I print them. I collate them. I sell them,” Meyer said.

For many of the poets the social aspect of BAPC is as important as its literary elements. Mark States is a longtime coalition member. He also works for the Berkeley Poetry Festival, an unaffiliated event. “A lot of poets here are alone,” States said. “They don’t have families around and this is a way to break bread on a holiday.”

BAPC was the first poetry organization States joined after seven years of frequent coffeehouse and open mike appearances. He joined because meeting at a “library was more relaxed than the coffeehouse scene.”

In shows he has produced since, “I’ve tried to duplicate that (BAPC) sense of everyone is here to share together as a community,” States said.

States’ poem “Me and the Mayor,” which condemns Oakland’s bureaucracy, opened the reading. Following States, Walter Liggett, a former painter from New York and self-proclaimed “haiku-master of Berkeley” recited his haiku “Besides the stormy bay / Pines sway, luminous and large / Logging starts Tuesday”

Liggett sold copies of his new book “The Legend of Brenda Sue,” which includes poems by many BAPC members as well as drawings by Oakland artist Gail Margaret.

While many of the poets are retired, several hold jobs unrelated to poetry. Roopa Ramamoorthi holds a doctorate in chemical engineering and works in biotechnology. She read environmentally-themed poems.

Lisa Miller, who serves as BAPC’s publicist, teaches math and yoga. She sees a connection between math and poetry. In both “you have to try things out until something fits,” Miller said.

Miller also sees parallels in their mental rigor. “If you don’t have problems with your poetry, you’re not trying hard enough,” she said. The poets prepared themselves for the reading with a mix of tasty food and heady conversation. A woman wearing a Mumia Abu-Jamal shirt explained the prisoner’s situation to an inquirer.

“One day someone will decide that as poets we’re no good and we oughta be shot, too.” Liggett replied.

Tom Dunphy, who originated the “General Waste-More-Land” guerrilla theater act in Berkeley during the Vietnam War also read from his work. He estimates writing the poem “Unpresent Daffodils” in 1973. It contained allusions to news of the time like “thanks to nixon all our taxes go to ‘watergate.’”

Before the reading he announced the donation of General Waste-More Land’s uniform to UC’s Bancroft Library. Well fed and eagerly anticipating the reading, everyone seemed to approve.

The BAPC will hold its next reading on Saturday, Oct. 6, from 3-5 p.m. at the South Branch of the Berkeley Library. The reading is free and all are welcome. An annual membership costs $15 and includes a subscription to Poetalk, the anthology and reduced fees for submitting contest entries. An annual subscription to Poetalk costs $6. For additional information contact Poetalk@aol.com.

Guy Poole

Tuesday September 04, 2001

Tuesday, Sept. 4

Intelligent Conversation

7 - 9 p.m.

Berkeley Richmond Jewish Community Center

A discussion group open to all, regardless of age, religion, viewpoint, etc. This time the discussion will center on friendships: deep, superficial, and what their obligations are. Informally led by Robert Berend, who founded similar groups in L.A., Menlo Park and Prague. Bring light snacks/drinks to share. Free. 527-5332

It’s been common knowledge in the school district for years that certain students – a high percentage of them minority students – were not learning to read in the critical early grades of elementary school.

It was an alarming trend because in the teaching world, it is generally understood that third grade is the time when students go from learning to read to reading to learn. Those students who had not learned to read by third grade thus faced dim prospects in the years ahead.

And, indeed, there are countless stories of students beginning to lose their self-esteem around fifth grade, and arriving at middle school the following year with a sickening sense that they cannot possibly succeed in school, no matter how hard they try.

By the time students reach Berkeley High, scores on standardized tests have shown for years that they are divided into two groups: those who achieve way above the state average and those who achieve way below it. Again, the division more often than not happens along racial and economic lines.

Chris Lim, a middle school principal in Berkeley for 12 years, was named the Berkeley Unified School District’s associate superintendent of instruction in 1998. She knew that all principals were concerned by the problems with literacy instruction in the early grades, so she immediately began looking around to see what the district was doing to address the problem.

To her dismay, she found BUSD was doing very little. What efforts were being made to address the problem were being driven by individual principals, with the result that each school site had different systems in place – of varying quality and intensity.

“I said, ‘OK, where’s the plan for this? How are we meeting this goal?’ And I realized there wasn’t a plan,” Lim said.

So, in 1998, with the enthusiastic support of principals from 11 elementary schools, Lim launched a three-year plan to put a battery of literacy programs in place at every school site. A districtwide assessment tool would be developed to evaluate how well the program, known as the Early Literacy Program, was meeting its goal of having all students reading at or above grade level by the third grade.

Last year was the first time that all of the city’s elementary schools reached full implementation. In October, Lim will present to the Board of Education for the first time a report showing the year-to-year changes in student literacy accomplished through the program.

Anecdotal reports indicate that the program has been a tremendous success. Teachers and administrators report fewer students beginning second and third grades with the severe literacy deficits that had been all too common before.

Under the project, students’ literacy is assessed in the first grade to determine those most at risk. The 20 percent who score lowest are then given intensive, one-on-one instruction every day from a Reading Recovery teacher with extensive training in literacy instruction – training above and beyond that of the average teacher.

The Reading Recovery students’ progress is assessed every single day. Those who are deemed to have reached grade level are “graduated.” Those who fail to make progress are referred to special education. Those who have poor attendance are dropped from the project.

If a student who did not test in the bottom 20 percent at the beginning of first grade seems to be slipping behind in the regular classroom, he or she might be placed in Reading Recovery at any time during the year.

Far from focusing only on the lowest-scoring 20 percent of first graders, the district’s Early Literacy Program is a plan to improve literacy instruction for all students in grades K-3. All students are assessed for their literacy level at least twice a year at every grade. There is a weekly intervention program, similar to reading recovery but less intensive, for second- and third-graders who seem to be falling behind their classmates.

Furthermore, aside from the so-called “intervention” programs for the students most in need, the new literacy program has appointed “literacy leaders” at each elementary school site. These teachers are trained extensively in the latest literacy instruction techniques and then given time during the school year to train all the teachers at their school.

Whereas in the past, Berkeley, like other school districts, tended to adopt one literacy instruction technique and run with it, today the district has integrated nine techniques into a comprehensive plan for teaching students to read.

They include:

• Reading aloud to children, a technique believed to motivate children to read, develop their sense of story and increase their vocabulary.

• Shared Reading, which involves rereading texts with students to build their confidence and comfort with reading.

• Guided Reading, in which students are divided into small groups based on their reading levels.

• Independent Reading, in which children are encouraged to read on their own.

• Shared Writing, in which the teacher acts as a scribe as students compose messages and stories.

• Guided Writing, in which teachers and volunteers work closely with students to help them complete a written document and perform edits of their work.

• Independent Writing, in which students are encourage to experiment with different forms of written expression.

• And a technique called Letters, Words, and How They Work.

The new approach to literacy may not be universally popular with all teachers. But, under the new plan, teachers are discussing their successes and failures in literacy instruction more than every before at site staff meetings, Lim said.

Said Oxford school literacy leader Mary Barrett: “Berkeley has one of the more balanced approaches around. We have a very solid reading program now.”

When will the Daily Planet realize that Americans who work to express solidarity with the Palestinian people are not “Palestinian activists,” but rather a very diverse movement of individuals of all faiths and ethnicities who are appalled by the ongoing Israeli abuses of Palestinian rights and America’s generous support of Israel’s crimes? One need not be Palestinian to realize that Palestinians are suffering under Israel’s domination.

Furthermore, why do you continue to treat the question of Apartheid against Palestinians as though it were a subjective matter of interpretation?

The question is simple: either Palestinians suffer under Apartheid-like conditions or they do not – but how can you expect interviews with activists in Berkeley to decide this matter? Why don’t you seek the first-hand sources that document Israel’s crimes against Palestinians from international human rights organizations, the United Nations, and the dozens of Israeli and Palestinian human rights organizations? You might also examine the testimony of actual Palestinians living under Israeli rule and occupation, who will relate their decades-long – and continuing – experience of dispossession, colonization, land confiscation, murder, and repression at the hands of their Israeli colonizers.

On a trip to Palestine in 1989 Archbishop Desmond Tutu said, “I am a black South African, and if I were to change the names, a description of what is happening in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank could describe events in South Africa.”

OAKLAND — BART unions say they’re much closer to an agreement, but management says they’re still far apart, as negotiations continued through the Labor Day holiday.

Mike Healy, a BART spokesman, said the unions would need to move more on the issue of wages before they reach a settlement.

On Saturday, the train services’ largest workers’ unions issued a 72-hour strike notice. The deadline is midnight Tuesday, but workers said they would postpone a strike if they receive a suitable offer.

BART’s latest offer is an 18.5 percent increase over four years, and the unions countered this weekend with a 20.5 percent increase. The unions are waiting to hear back from BART.

“In our opinion, we have moved a lot,” said Bob Smith, president of the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1555.

BART initially offered an 11.5 percent pay increase over four years, but boosted it Friday. The unions have reduced their request for improved salaries and benefits from 27 percent over three years.

BART’s proposal would raise wages by about $10,000. “Train operators earning $48,000 would be earning over $57,000 at the end of the four years under BART’s proposal,” Healy said.

BART expects to raise fares over the next two years to accommodate higher wages, as well as to account for increased operating expenses. Healy said it was still too early to estimate the amount of a fare increase.

“Over 50 percent of our ridership will earn less than what our workers will earn,” said BART General Manager Thomas Margo. “What we’re asking is for the unions to also look at the needs of riders. If fares go up and people stop using BART, it won’t be a good result for both sides.”

Smith said the unions are requesting increases in accordance with cost of living in the Bay Area and inflation.

The unions have asked San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown, Oakland Mayor Jerry Brown, state Sen. Don Perata, D-Oakland, and state Sen. Tom Torlakson, D-Martinez to help in the negotiations.

Union members said that a strike — in which 2,800 BART workers would head to the picket lines — would cost BART about $500,000 in lost fares a day. Smith said it would take nine days for BART to lose the amount of money that the unions are requesting.

BART transports more than 300,000 Bay Area commuters a day, who will have to search for alternatives on Wednesday morning if there’s a strike.

BART’s last strike in 1997 resulted in massive traffic problems. Bay Area legislators have warned that a strike this time around could create even worse traffic, as well as overcrowding of the AC Transit system.

In anticipation of a strike, Alameda and Oakland ferry services, San Francisco’s Muni and San Mateo County’s Sam Trans will increase their services. BART will also offer a limited bus service from four stations, Pleasant Hill, El Cerrito Del Norte, Dublin/Pleasanton and Fremont.

I was ecstatic to find out that The Daily Planet has taken to advertising for various political groups in the Berkeley area in the “News” section. I would like it if next you interviewed the Berkeley Communist Club; let them make as many unsubstantiated claims as they want and then rebut their argument with a few quotes from the Pro-Democracy Union on wanting dialogue.

You also may wish to invite the West Coast Neo-Nazi organization for a “news article” since what they will have to say is I am sure no less opinionated then the “objective” piece on Students for Justice in Palestine.

Has the Daily Planet forgotten the cardinal rule of reporting? Last time I checked, newspapers were supposed to write with objectivity – opinions are to be left for the opinions page.

Your Aug. 31 piece reflects nothing but a desire to promote one political group and opinion over another.

You have given SJP free advertising for their hate campaign, but have as of yet shown no intention of doing a similar piece expressing the other side of the story… truly a shame.

Further, in the future please use the Oxford English Dictionary as your source for definitions – not Mr. Shingavi. Under his “definition” of apartheid, every Arab State, as well Afghanistan, European Countries, Iraq, and even the United States are “apartheid states” for their treatment of Jews, Kurds, Hindus, Gypsies, and Native Americans. Apartheid was the system of governing under which citizens of South Africa were confined to certain areas and subjugated to harsher laws because of the color of their skin. Not one of those characteristics applies to Israel.

But, who knows, I could be wrong – maybe Shingavi’s definition is more correct than the OED’s. Then should we divest from the United States? It’s your call, SJP.

The temperature Monday was a Labor-Day perfect 70 degrees, and plenty of people were on their way to Cesar Chavez Park with their kites and rollerblades. Or else they were headed up to Tilden to throw the Frisbee, fire up the grill and drink to the summer of 2001.

Meanwhile, about 60 dedicated souls gathered at North Gate Hall, on the UC Berkeley campus, to talk labor issues and to hear a presentation on a major new economic survey of the East Bay. Among those giving up the peak hours of the holiday were city councilmembers Linda Maio and Kriss Worthington.

The survey, just published by the East Bay Alliance for a Sustainable Economy, is titled “Decade of Divide: Working Wages and Inequality in the East Bay.” With charts, statistics and first-person narratives by workers below the poverty level, it argues that the phenomenal economic boom of the last decade was actually a disaster for the East Bay’s working poor.

Amaha Kassa, EBASE’s co-director, welcomed those who attended the discussion by congratulating them on their political involvement.

“Today is a day that people tend to spend with their families, barbecuing or playing at the beach,” he said. “But we felt that it was important to spend at least part of the day talking about labor.”

Howard Greenwich, EBASE’s director of research and principal author of “Decade of Divide,” presented the major points, and some of the more alarming findings, of the new study.

“In the 1990s, overall prosperity could not bridge the gap between rich and poor,” he said.

The top 20 per cent of East Bay workers saw their paychecks rocket up 17 percent over the last 10 years, when adjusted for inflation. Meanwhile, the bottom 20 percent saw their real wages drop by 2 percent.

Equally disturbing, said Greenwich, was the fact that while the state of California added around 900,000 jobs to the economy in the last decade, the number of jobs that paid between $25,000 and $55,000 actually decreased by 100,000. Jobs that paid less than $25,000 increased by 700,000.

“The days when you could find a good blue-collar job with a high-school education are gone,” Howard said.

After the part of the presentation concerned with quantifiable data was over, Kassa invited some of the people whose personal stories appear in “Decade of Divide” to speak to the assembly.

Han Yan Wu, of Oakland, talked about the difficulty of covering the bills and the impossibility of getting ahead on her family’s three full-time salaries.

“Over the last three years we have shared an apartment,” she said. “Besides what we need for food, transportation and housing, there is no space to move forward in our lives.”

Wu, who is 55, said she feels lucky to earn $7.25 per hour – minus the $81 per month she remits to her employer for health care – in an electronics assembly plant.

The EBASE report ended with a series of recommendations, including living-wage ordinances for the Port of Oakland and the city of Richmond, affordable housing and stronger anti-discrimination workplace laws.

During the discussion, Alameda County Supervisor Keith Carson, whose district includes Berkeley, thanked the EBASE members for their work, and said that given his experience in government, he could support their recommendations “without exception.”

“Government clearly does have a role in stepping in and dealing with these issues,” he said, and in fact has a mandate to provide essential services, including transportation, education, and food and housing assistance for the most needy of its citizens.

“Do I pay for health care? Do I pay for child care? For transportation? For food? Those are the kind of issues that we see on the county level.”

Carson added several recommendations of his own to the EBASE list, including the reintroduction of education in the trades at the high school level, more efficient and effective public transportation and affordable health care.

“We’ve gotten away from universal health care in this fight, and we need to get back to it,” he said.

Kassa ended the presentation by announcing that on Sept. 11, EBSE would appear before the Oakland city council to ask support for a “living wage” ordinance for the Port of Oakland. Three thousand of the port’s 22,000 workers are currently earning below-poverty wages.

As the event was breaking up, Judy Goff, the executive secretary-treasurer of the Alameda County Central Labor Council offered all present $10 tickets to a Labor Day rally and a baseball game, the Oakland Athletics versus the Baltimore Orioles, at the Coliseum. The A’s were to honor nine “iron men” of the labor movement, including Elena Griffing, who has worked at Berkeley’s Alta Bates Hospital for the past 49 years. AFL-CIO president John Sweeney was to throw out the first pitch.

The East Bay Alliance for Sustainable Democracy can be reached at 893-7106.

As a member of Students for Justice in Palestine at UC-Berkeley I would like to first thank you for your article “Campus Activists Call for an End to Israeli Apartheid”, in which you gave a much needed voice to a very historic conference being held here in Berkeley “Holding the University Accountable- Divesting from Israeli Apartheid.” However, I would like to voice my concern over the nature of your coverage and some very disturbing inaccuracies.

Being Jewish and a member of SJP, I am concerned by your inaccurate portrayal of SJP as only a series of Palestinian activists, or even Arab-Americans. We are a very diverse group of individuals, Palestinian, Arab, Jewish, Asian, Hispanic, Iranian, European, Muslim, Christian, atheist, and etc, and we pride ourselves in our diversity and see it as our greatest strength.

As exemplified by our diversity, this issue is not one of Arab/Muslim vs. Israeli/Jewish, which you seem to imply. This is a human rights issue, one in which crimes against humanity are being committed (according to the Fourth Geneva Convention) by a highly militarized occupying apartheid state (Israel) against a virtually unarmed population, which is exercising their right to defend themselves and fight for self-determination and liberation.

SJP is a diverse coalition of UC-Berkeley students, staff, faculty, and community members, which is in solidarity with the Palestinians, and all indigenous liberation movements across the world.

Right now there are at least two programs under which Californians can save a significant amount of money by being energy efficient: the Governor’s 20/20 Rebate Program, and the 1-2-3 Cashback Program through Pacific Gas & Electric for energy-efficient appliances and fixtures. With a little up-front expense, the long-term benefits can mean more money in your wallet at the end of every month. Start by asking, “How efficient is your refrigerator?”

A refrigerator at least 10 years old uses as much energy as two refrigerators carrying the EnergyStar label, according to PG&E and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Products with the government-backed EnergyStar label exceed energy-performance guidelines and therefore save owners money in the long run.

A refrigerator made around 1990 uses more than 900 kilowatt-hours per year, about $125 a year at current rates of 14 cents per kilowatt-hour. The older the refrigerator the more power it burns, according to the EPA. An EnergyStar refrigerator exceeds government standards by at least 20 percent. Over the product's life span – estimated at about 20 years – it can save owners $2,200 in energy costs. If you haven’t purchased a new refrigerator in the last couple of years, you may have a “watt-hog” in your kitchen. Models that are at least 10 years old have many of the following traits: mechanical handles, magnetic strips holding the doors shut, colors of green, yellow, pink or blue, chrome handles, exposed house-door type hinges, or rounded “shoulders.” If you have one of these, you are spending more in energy than you need to.

The payback period for a new energy-efficient refrigerator is about 2.4 years, based on electricity rates of about 14 cents per kilowatt hour. This assumes that an EnergyStar refrigerator is on average $97 more expensive than the same-sized non-EnergyStar model.

Rebates of up to $200 for new EnergyStar efficient refrigerators available through PG&E, plus a rebate of $75 for recycling your old (but still working) refrigerator (free pickup included) through the Alameda County Waste Management Authority. Call 1-800-599-5798 for more details.

Before shopping for a new refrigerator, go to the Department of Energy EnergyStar Website at www.ENERGYSTAR.gov to find the most efficient model for your needs. Also refer to Consumer Reports magazine for reliability and performance ratings (available in the libraries).

Here’s what you can do in the meantime before you replace your refrigerator – or if you rent and are stuck with the refrigerator that came with your apartment.

• Fill plastic bottles with water two inches from the top, and put them in your freezer to take up the excess space. Freezers work much harder cooling down large volumes of warm air, so keeping the refrigerator stocked with ice in between shopping trips will save energy.

• When you need the freezer space, just move the bottles into the refrigerator section and it will keep the refrigerator from running to cool down air in there. You will now also have an emergency stock of water and ice if the power goes out!

• Check the gasket around the door. Keep it clean and pliable, so that it makes a good seal.

• Raise the cooling and freezing temperatures in both refrigerator and freezer sections to between two and three. Ice cream doesn’t have to be rock-hard!

• Keep the ventilation space behind and on top of the refrigerator clear of objects. Blocking this airspace makes the refrigerator work harder and run longer to cool itself.

• Lastly, don’t open the refrigerator door more than necessary, especially in hot weather. An open refrigerator door makes a poor air conditioner.

Alice La Pierre is an energy analyst for the city’s Energy Office. Her column appears as a public service the first and third Tuesdays of the month.

BOSTON — Two months after Patrick McCullough lost his $60,000-a-year job installing computer networks for law firms, he’s having a hard time getting work — even though he’s had job offers.

McCullough’s former employer is threatening to enforce a so-called “noncompete” agreement that bars him from working for anyone who provides legal services within 150 miles of his home. His former boss made it clear he’d enforce the pact when he called to say McCullough had been seen attending a local law firm’s pizza party.

“I’m basically shut out of my industry,” said McCullough, 33, of Cincinnati. “They should allow me to earn a living.”

An increasing number of high-tech workers who signed noncompete agreements during the dot-com boom and are now finding them a barrier to getting new jobs during the dot-com bust.

Employers say the contracts legitimately protect them from losing trade secrets, clients or money invested in training their workers. Critics say noncompete and confidentiality agreements are used unfairly to prevent people from finding better jobs.

With the cooling of the high-tech frenzy in Massachusetts, Secretary of State William Galvin said his office is fielding an increasing number of complaints from fired workers who can’t get jobs in their professions because they signed noncompete contracts without worrying about the future implications.

“The propensity has been to stick these agreements before anyone getting a job,” Galvin said. “People shouldn’t need to go to court just to fight to get the right to seek employment.”

Employers, though, have good reason to fear the damage a former employee can do to their businesses, said Catherine Reuben, a Boston attorney who represents employers.

The Internet makes it easy to download a company’s client lists or to send trade secrets across the country in an instant, Reuben said.

Companies that once limited noncompete agreements to top executives, salesmen and research and development personnel are now asking rank-and-file workers to sign them, she said.

“I have seen more companies saying, ‘I require it of everyone’,” Reuben said.

More companies are also trying to make them stick.

Telecommunications giant Sprint Corp. used a noncompete agreement last year to prevent its chief technology officer, Marty Kaplan, from taking company secrets to rival Worldcom Inc., which had offered him a job as president of operations.

Wal-Mart sued its competitor Amazon.com in 1998 because the online bookseller had hired 15 of its inventory managers familiar with its confidential computerized merchandising and distribution systems. The case was settled out of court.

Carl Khalil, a Virginia Beach, Va., corporate attorney, hears from about 5,000 people a month looking for ways to get out of their contracts through his Web site: www.breakyournoncompete.com.

“They’re very prevalent in the high-tech field, a field where — until just the past few months — you had an exploding number of employees and an exploding number of noncompetes,” said Khalil, who tracks the cases on legal databases.

Khalil peddles an outline suggesting 16 defenses against noncompetes for employees baffled by the complex web of state law and court decisions that govern the agreements.

In Wisconsin, a noncompete agreement that’s too broad will be struck down by the court, but Michigan courts will enforce broad noncompete agreements after narrowing their scope, Khalil said.

California, Colorado, Montana and North Dakota severely restrict the agreements. Maine and Massachusetts exempt broadcasters from them, while the rules vary for doctors from state to state.

Only lawyers are exempt from noncompete agreements in every state, Khalil said.

The legal patchwork and evolving case law make it hard for both employees and employers to know their rights. On June 29, the Louisiana Supreme Court effectively struck down noncompete agreements except when employees leave to run their own business.

John Castelano, a St. Petersburg, Fla., private investigator, is trying to get out of a noncompete agreement with his former boss, who fired him.

“They’re going to use the noncompete to make sure I don’t work for anyone else,” he said. “This is scaring the hell out of me.”

Castelano has a wife, four kids, $500 in monthly rent and a $400 car payment to worry about. To make ends meet, he said he’s making pizzas and picking up a few freelance investigation jobs.

“Signing a noncompete and knowing what you’re getting into are two different things,” he said. “But you want the job so bad. I’ve got four mouths to feed. I’ll sign anything.”

SAN FRANCISCO — Eateries and vendors at San Francisco International Airport are watching their business slide along with the troubled high-tech economy.

Business travel has dropped, causing restaurants such as Lori’s Diner to offer discounts to airport employees just to bring in some business.

Allison Marble, a spokeswoman for the National Business Travel Association says corporations that spend the most on business travel are reducing their spending by 30 percent to 50 percent. More than 60 percent of the group’s members are switching to low-cost airlines, she said.

CalStar Retail Inc. has not paid rent for three of its six stores in the complex and is being sued by the airport. San Francisco Golf has fallen behind its rent payments and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art store has asked for a rent decrease.

From May 2000 to May 2001, total concession sales dropped 2 percent at all terminals combined.

SACRAMENTO — Note to potential gubernatorial candidates in California: Those without tens of millions of dollars, or the ability to raise them, need not apply.

It’s a message shaped by recent campaigns in this sprawling state and buttressed by the massive amounts of money already being raised for the 2002 governor’s race.

More than a year before the general election, Gov. Gray Davis has already raised close to the $35 million he spent for his entire 1998 campaign.

Two wealthy Republican businessmen are also collecting contributions to challenge the Democratic incumbent, setting the stage for a race that could outspend the state’s previous, record-breaking gubernatorial campaign.

“We know in order to be a viable candidate, we certainly will have to be in Gray Davis’ ballpark,” said Bob Taylor, a campaign consultant for Los Angeles businessman William E. Simon Jr., a Republican candidate for governor.

According to recent campaign spending reports, Davis’ campaign treasury is on pace to reach more than $50 million by the November 2002 general election.

Davis’ advisers say he’ll need millions to fight any rich potential Republican opponent and also match the millions they expect the national GOP to spend to try to retake the office they held for 16 years before Davis’ 1998 victory.

The governor also is trying to rebuild his popularity weakened by the state’s electricity crisis. While the state has avoided rolling blackouts this summer, conflict of interest accusations have hit some of Davis’ energy advisers.

“We make no apology for getting prepared here to run what is going to be a hell’s-a-popping race where there will be massive resources aligned against us,” said Garry South, Davis’ top campaign adviser.

National Democrats are also expected to spend liberally in support of the top race in California, a Democratic stronghold and a cornerstone of the party’s bid to retake control of Congress.

The biggest variable so far is whether former Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan, a wealthy Republican businessman able to spend millions of his own money, will run. He’s expected to decide in the fall.

“He’ll bring a lot more money to the table,” said Jim Knox, executive director of California Common Cause, a public policy watchdog group.

Riordan spent about $6.3 million of his own money running for mayor of Los Angeles in 1993 and 1997. He also has been courted by President Bush, who can help him secure money from national Republicans.

With or without Riordan, the candidates in the race now have said they’ll spend tens of millions.

Simon is the son of former Treasury Secretary William E. Simon.

, who served presidents Nixon and Ford. He’s tapped into the Wall Street network both he and his father worked for years and raised $3.1 million in the first six months of the year. His goal is to collect at least $20 million.

“If he can’t raise a significant amount of money, he’s going to take a good hard look” at whether to stay in the +race+, Taylor said.

Secretary of State Bill Jones, also an announced GOP candidate, battled sagging support from Republicans in the first half of the year and raised less than $1 million, far less than what analysts said he’ll need.

As Davis and others raise money for 2002, California is chasing its own record set in 1998, when four candidates spent a combined $120 million.

That was the most expensive non-presidential race in the nation, said Ed Bender, research director for the National Institute on Money in State Politics in Helena, Mont.

Then, Davis was outspent in the primary by two wealthy Democrats — former airline executive Al Checchi, who spent $35 million largely of his own money and Rep. Jane Harman, who spent more than $20 million.

Since winning the primary and then beating Republican Dan Lungren in November, Davis hasn’t stopped raising money. He has won the support of a wide array of contributors including labor unions, special-interest groups and many corporate groups that traditionally support Republicans.

Some campaign finance analysts fear his fund-raising volume has increased the influence of special interests.

“Citizens have the perspective that elections are determined by special interest contributions and I think it is a major factor in generating voter apathy,” Knox said.

“This governor’s campaign is not just about getting the gubernatorial seat again, it’s about positioning oneself for the presidential race two years after,” said DePaul University marketing professor Bruce Newman, a political marketing and campaign spending expert.

Davis’ ambitions aside, however, California is just an expensive state in which to run a statewide campaign. The nation’s most populous state has two of its largest television markets, which makes buying TV ad time expensive.

“A campaign for governor in this state is not unlike a campaign for president or for prime minister of a nation,” said Dave Puglia, a public relations consultant and campaign director for Lungren.

A statewide television ad — the medium which eats up the bulk of most modern American campaigns — can cost at least $1 million a week. Radio spots run up to $150,000 a week. Meaningful polls cost about $20,000 apiece. California’s diversity also complicates a campaign and raises its costs. Its 33 million residents live in diverse pockets that include the agricultural Central Valley, high-tech Silicon Valley, the traditionally liberal Bay Area, greater Los Angeles and its entertainment industry and the rapidly growing Inland Empire.

Campaigns in California, as well as nationwide, Newman said, have left behind the traditional volunteers networks, which have “all been taken over by the more sophisticated marketing campaign.”

So, the state that featured 2000’s most expensive House race — the $11.1 million spent by Democrat Adam Schiff and Republican Jim Rogan — will continue as a national leader in expensive races.

“California’s unique in a lot of respects and I think campaign spending is one of them,” Bender said.

———

On the Net:

http://www.followthemoney.org contains a database on campaign spending in state races.

Berkeley’s working class has much to celebrate this Labor Day. As the national percentage of unionized workers decreased in the past year, new unions have appeared in town and the membership of local labor organizations has grown.

“There is a pretty high interest in union organizing in Berkeley, not only on campus,” said Margy Wilkinson, an administrative assistant at UC Berkeley’s Moffitt Library and the chief negotiator for the Coalition of University Employees bargaining team. “People have become aware that having a union is the only way that working people can have an effect on their working conditions.”

Total union membership for Berkeley is not available, but experts say that the city follows the state trend. In 2001, California union membership grew by 19,000 and now represents 16 percent of the state’s workforce, according to the California Labor Federation. Nationally, the percentage of unionized workers dropped to 13.5 percent last year.

Unlike other parts of the country, Alameda County has seen the decline of the manufacturing industry and more union members are emerging in the service industry, said Lincoln Smith of the Alameda County Center for Labor Council.

Berkeley offers good examples of this transformation. In the past year alone, employees at the Berkeley Marina Radisson Hotel and recyclers who work at the Community Conservation Centers successfully unionized. After months fighting for a union and negotiating with the Radisson Hotel management, the hotel’s employees, represented by the Hotel Employee and Restaurant Employees Union, Local 2850, finalized a contract last December. Likewise, workers of Berkeley’s Community Conservation Centers organized a new union last February. And in June, the Industrial Workers of the World, which represented them, signed a union contract that raised recyclers’ wages by more than 20 percent.

Meanwhile, unions on UC Berkeley’s campus are becoming more active. They are putting more resources into gaining attention and organizing the school’s workforce.

“The labor movement in general realized that it will have to expand if it wants to survive,” said Chloe Osmer, program coordinator at the Center for Labor Research and Education. “Unions are re-invigorating. They’re organizing campaigns.”

That’s exactly what the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees did. The union created the so-called UC contract campaign in 1999 with the purpose of mobilizing workers to defend their rights. Since the initiative was launched, AFSCME doubled its membership in Berkeley and nearly quadrupled it statewide. CUE’s membership has grown too. Between November and now, its membership expanded by 20 percent.

Unions’ increased popularity can also be measured looking at public opinion. An Associated Press poll released Wednesday shows that Americans are more sympathetic towards unions than they used to be. Today, the poll indicates, three people out of four approve unions, while 20 years ago less than two people out of three did.

“Unions are aligning themselves with social movements, such as the immigrant rights movement, and speaking up for the weaker members of our society,” said Osmer. “Playing a role in civil rights campaigns has put them back in the public eyes. It’s changing their image.”

Walter Johnson, secretary treasurer of the San Francisco Labor Council, agrees that change is occurring. He says that the workforce is not the same it used to be and that unions are redefining the way they operate.

“Labor is reaching more than it has in the past,” he said. “Now unions are working more together than before. These are a much more unified voice to give you the message of labor.”

All the talk about the Cal football team during the pre-season was focused on their new offense, which was supposed to break out of a four-year funk under new offensive coordinator Al Borges. Everyone assumed the Bears’ defense would be fine, especially the secondary with four cornerbacks who were presumed to be top caliber.

Everyone’s presumptions were turned on their heads on Saturday as the Illinois Illini dominated the first half of both teams’ season opener at Memorial Stadium on the way to a 44-17 win. Senior quarterback Kurt Kittner threw for 237 yards and two touchdowns in the first half before Illinois head coach Ron Turner decided to take it easy on the Bears in the second half. Kittner, a Heisman candidate, ended up with 297 yards passing in the game.

Kittner’s favorite target was wide receiver Brandon Lloyd, who missed last season, including the team’s 17-15 win over Cal, with a broken leg. Lloyd set career highs in receptions, yards and touchdowns on Saturday, catching eight balls for 178 yards and two scores. That total could have been even higher, but two catches for 70 yards and another touchdown were called back for holding on the Illini offensive line.

“If you could script this game, that would be our nightmare script,” Cal head coach Tom Holmoe said after the game. “This might not have been a do-or-die game, but it’s not exactly what we had in mind.”

The first half looked painfully easy for the visitors, as Kittner constantly had time to sit in the pocket and find easy targets in the Cal secondary to grab a 38-7 halftime lead.

“We usually get more heat on the quarterback, that’s one of our trademarks,” Holmoe said. “They were just making wide-open catches.”

The Cal cornerback quartet of Atari Callen, Jemeel Powell, LeShaun Ward and James Bethea were each the victim of at least one big play at some point in the first half. Powell was the defender on both of Lloyd’s touchdown catches; Callen gave up a 28-yard catch to Lloyd on the second play of the game and a 46-yarder during Illinois’ second drive; Ward was beaten by Lloyd on a simple post pattern for a 45-yard touchdown pass that was called back for holding; and Bethea lost wide receiver Walter Young over the middle on a 4th-and-two, a 17-yard play that extended an Illinois scoring drive.

The Bears spent most of the game with eight men in the box in an attempt to stop the Illinois running game, but couldn’t adjust once it became obvious that their cornerbacks couldn’t handle Lloyd on their own. The Illini ended up with just 84 rushing yards, but their big plays in the air were what killed the Bears.

Setencich said he expected his cornerbacks to play press no the Illinois wideouts for most of the game, but all four were playing well off the line of scrimmage for most snaps. That let the receivers get off the line clean, and without help from the safeties, Cal got burned repeatedly.

“When you want to compete, you get up in the guy’s face,” Setencich said. “I don’t know if it was overconfidence or fear.”

Along with the secondary failing to slow anyone in a blue-and-orange jersey, some old problems reared their heads in the first half. Cal’s special teams, which were supposed to be improved with the hiring of coach LeCharls McDaniel, were disastrous in the first half. After the Illini took a 10-0 lead following a 32-yard field goal by J.J. Tubbs, Callen fumbled the ensuing kickoff on the Cal 26, and Illinois’ Jamal Clark recovered. Illinois scored on an Antonio Harris seven-yard run, the first of three touchdowns by the junior tailback, and Cal was in a 17-0 hole.

“I tried to cut and someone hit me from the side, I don’t know if it was one of them or one of us, and I wasn’t holding the ball tightly enough,” Callen said. “I was just too riled up, trying to make a big play.”

After breakdowns in punt protection cost the Bears shots at two wins last year, McDaniel spent a lot of time in practice perfecting the blocking schemes. But on Tyler Fredrickson’s third attempt late in the second quarter, Illinois’ Dwayne Smith came through unblocked, smothering Fredrickson on the Cal 10. Another short drive later, Kittner went up top to Lloyd, who beat Powell to the left corner of the end zone by three yards for the score.

“That should have been a very simple pickup, and someone just missed it,” Holmoe said. “We put in a ton of work on our punt protection, and one person just didn’t execute.”

Cal’s offensive line, another presumed strength heading into the season, was also a disappointment, especially highly-touted tackles Langston Walker and Mark Wilson. Speedy Illinois defensive ends Terrell Washington and Brandon Moore terrorized Cal quarterback Kyle Boller, combining for three sacks as they ran around the mammoth Walker and Wilson.

Washington forced a Boller fumble late in the first quarter with a blindside whack, and the Illini recovered at the Cal 7. Harris dove over the goal-line pile for another touchdown 22 seconds into the second quarter to give his team a 24-0 lead, effectively putting the game out of reach with nearly three quarters still to play.

The offensive line’s ineffectiveness made it hard to evaluate Borges’ offense, as Boller rarely had time to set up and throw without dodging hurtling Illini defenders. Boller completed 17 of 29 passes for 184 yards before being pulled in the fourth quarter, with no touchdowns and one interception. There were positive signs, as Boller hooked up with fullback Marcus Fields for several long gains, and there were no clock management issues that plagued the offense last year. The Bears actually ended up outgaining Illinois in the game, 381 total yards to 373, but the count in the first half, when the game was being decided, was 280-125 in favor of the visitors.

But Boller also missed several open receivers and didn’t have a completion longer than 25 yards. The tight end spot was non-existent in the passing game, as Boller threw just one pass for a tight end, an incompletion meant for Terrance Dotsy.

Tailback Joe Igber had an excellent performance, running for 116 yards and both Cal touchdowns. The junior showed his usual happy feet, stutter-stepping and cutting back for good gains despite the swarming Illinois defenders.

But with the secondary obviously not at the top of its form, the Bears could be in serious trouble when BYU comes calling this weekend. The pass-happy Cougars have scored 121 points in their first two games, and feature a more sophisticated passing attack than Illinois.

“I’d have to be crazy as a coach to think it will continue this way,” Holmoe said. “There’s no way one game will ruin our entire season.”

But it can come very close.

NOTES: Four true freshman played their first games for the Bears on Saturday, and two, defensive tackle Lorenzo Alexander and tailback Terrell Williams, had an immediate impact. Alexander and defensive end Tully Banta-Cain teamed up to force Kittner into an intentional grounding penalty when they put him under serious pressure. Alexander played about 22 snaps in the game. Williams gained 43 yards on five carries as Igber’s backup, including a 20-yard run.

*****

Sophomore wide receiver Geoff McArthur will have surgery today on a lacerated tricep muscle, the team announced. The injury occurred after the game on Saturday and was non-football related, according to Holmoe.

McArthur will miss two to three weeks because of the injury, after starting the Illinois game and catching four balls for 32 yards.

Guy Poole

Monday September 03, 2001

Monday, Sept. 3

Intensive Production Urban Gardening Training

10 a.m. - 4 p.m.

Santa Fe Bar & Grill

1310 University Ave.

Learn ways to intensively and organically grow produce for your own use or for an urban market garden. A hands-on training in the garden located behind the restaurant and potluck lunch at 1 p.m. Free community training, meets the first Monday each month. 841-1110

Potluck Picnic and Poetry

noon - 4 p.m.

Live Oak Park

Walnut and Rose streets

Bay Area Poets Coalition hosts a Labor Day potluck picnic followed by an open poetry reading. All are welcome to bring food and poetry to share. 527-9905 poetalk@aol.com

East Bay’s crisis of working poverty to be investigated at the hearing. Featuring a panel and audience of East Bay political, religious, labor and community leaders, including: Congresswoman Barbara Lee, Alameda County Supervisor Keith Carson and others. 893-7106

Tuesday, Sept. 4

Intelligent Conversation

7 - 9 p.m.

Berkeley Richmond Jewish Community Center

A discussion group open to all, regardless of age, religion, viewpoint, etc. This time the discussion will center on friendships: deep, superficial, and what their obligations are. Informally led by Robert Berend, who founded similar groups in L.A., Menlo Park and Prague. Bring light snacks/drinks to share. Free. 527-5332

The great American sell-out — GM logo could join Big Mac’s at the Smithsonian

The management of one of our national treasures — the Smithsonian Museum — threatens to plumb new depths in pimping the public domain to corporate interests. A preliminary deal awaiting consideration by the Smithsonian board of regents would sell General Motors Inc. naming rights for the institute’s new hall of transportation for $10 million.

Want fries with that? The Smithsonian’s Air and Space Museum is replacing its current food vendor, Guest Services Inc., with McDonald’s — a partnership providing the museum with a potential $34 million and McDonald’s with its projected busiest site.

It’s easy money, but ethically troublesome when considering that two-thirds of the financial support for the Smithsonian comes from taxpayers.

Professional sports were the proving ground for such corporate moves.

Today, corporate financing and naming stadiums are routine. A recent addition to corporate logos on uniforms, the jumbotron and banners pulled by small planes above the game, is the corporate-sponsored play-by-play, subjecting fans to the Jiffy-Lube Double Play and the Geico Direct Call to the Bullpen.

And let’s not forget the public schools turned into corporate marketing venues. School rooftops are the trendy locus for cell phone towers. Schools blame budget concerns as cause for signing away public property and children’s health with lucrative deals that submit children to Channel One in the classroom, Pepsi in the hallway, and McDonald’s at the lunchtable. Teachers receive free, corporate-sponsored lesson supplements (let’s learn about the environment from Exxon and Mobil!). And ads adorn buses, book covers and folders, as well as the school cafeteria.

But across the country, there is a move to reclaim public space:

•A bill pending in the Oregon legislature would prohibit naming public buildings after corporations.

•Corporate bidders for naming rights to four subway stations in Boston have been scared away by public outcry.

• In protest of further commercialization, some people are refusing to pay new recreation fees for access to public land.

•The Denver Post has chosen to call the Broncos’ new, publicly subsidized home “Mile-High Stadium” rather than its official, corporate moniker.

So what about the Smithsonian? Ethical concerns about previous major donor agreements have curators and researchers waging a Dump Small sticker campaign, demanding ouster of Smithsonian Secretary Lawrence Small, a former Citibank executive. Responding to decisions such as K-Mart’s being allowed to sponsor the Smithsonian's traveling African American sacred music exhibit, The Smithsonian Congress of Scholars has weighed in against Secretary Small in a memo to the regents.

“Of all the acquisitions made by the Smithsonian in over 150 years,æ it states, “the most significant by far is the trust of the American people ... Secretary Small’s decisions circumvent established decision-making procedures and seem certain to commit our museum to unethical relationships with private donors. These actions threaten to change fundamentally the nature of the museum, while ignoring the broad consultation and open public discussion called for by such changes.”

According to the scholars whose work supports the Smithsonian, “responsible” practice in the past has meant that major changes undergo professional review and scrutiny. They write: “Newly adopted projects, such as the creation of a hall of fame of individual Americans, renaming the museum, and the reconfiguring of exhibition space in the museum, have not been subject to the deliberative procedures applied to all proposals, independent of the source of the ideas or the source of the financial support for the project.”

There is still time before the regents meet on Sept. 17 to stop the General Motors agreement and send a strong public message.

Nowhere in the U.S. Constitution are corporations mentioned, yet our Supreme Court bestowed upon them rights of persons in an 1886 decision, “Santa Clara County v. Southern Pacific Railroad.” Perhaps the people behind corporations think that status justifies “corporate citizenship.” It’s time to declare our rights to the public realm and reclaim them.

The differences between reality, fiction and spirit blur in “The Other Side of Haight,” the new novel by James Fadiman, the cofounder of The Institute of Transperson Psychology and director of the Institute of Noetic Sciences.

The story takes place in a San Francisco gently but firmly exploding into the summer of love, with two very different characters. One is a groovy, achingly young runaway named Shadow Dancer; the other is one of her lovers Angelo — an ivy league straight guy who had intended to spend his time busily earning brownie points in a secret CIA-sponsored study that was being conducted on unwitting male whorehouse clientele.

Both characters — and even the air itself — seem to shimmer with awareness, vulnerability, hope and the excitement of entering the greatest spiritual adventure of their lives.

This book will be like floating right back to a familiar cloud if you were there at the first Be-In at Golden Gate Park, the everyday life of the street on places like Haight-Ashbury or hanging out with the likes of Ken Kesey and Alan Ginsberg and other famous explorers of the 60s at Janis Joplin concerts fragrant with pot.

If you weren’t there, and instead, like me, reached adulthood only to find, disappointingly, that the 60s seemed smoked and gone — despite all the parents and teachers who’d gone quite gray worrying that every child who didn’t get to bed by 8 p.m. would end up pregnant or impregnating, hooked on LSD, long-haired and too-groovy-for-words — this book will be like finally getting to that elusive state of consciousness-expanding Be-In at last.

James Fadiman aims to have captured it all, trying to be accurate with both the facts and the feelings of this exuberant, amazing and highly remarkable period.

In fact, the most astonishing details in the book come from real events, as James Fadiman explains, “It is true that ‘The Agency’ funded and ran a whorehouse in San Francisco and that it was used as a laboratory to observe how subjects would react to being given LSD and other drugs without their knowledge.”

And yet this book is most truly a tribute to such psychedelics, in the words of Terence McKenna, one of the great explorers of inner space: “If psychedelics don’t ready you for the great beyond, then I don’t know what really does. ... I have an absolute faith that the universe prefers joy and distills us with joy. That is what religion is trying to download to us, and this is what every moment of life is trying to do — if we can open to it.”

After a months-long battle about budgeting priorities that seemed mired in stalemate, Alameda County Superintendent of Schools Sheila Jordan and the county Board of Education finally passed a budget Tuesday.

“This agreement means that we can now turn all of our attention back to providing our services to the students, teachers and parents of Alameda County,” Jordan said in a statement.

“It also suggests that we can work together, despite strong differences about our priorities.”

Back in May, the prospect of Jordan being able to work with the board seemed so slim that state Superintendent of Education Delaine Eastin felt compelled to write a strongly worded letter, reminding the county office that its funding could be cut off if a budget was not submitted in a timely manner.

“The consequences of not adopting and filing your budget as the law specifies are too great to disregard,” Eastin wrote at the time.

Despite the warning, however, a majority of the board members were so disappointed with Jordan’s proposed budget, and with her alleged refusal respond to their concerns with thorough explanations, that they planned to pass their own alternative budget.

At one point, they even threatened to cut Jordan’s salary by as much as 20 percent as a measure of their dissatisfaction. The idea was later abandoned.

Jordan countered that the board’s complaints were politically motivated, and that, in fact, she was doing more than any county superintendent had done in years to provide accurate and detailed budget information to the board.

The county office’s $30 million budget pays the salaries of county administrative staff who support the 18 school districts in Alameda County by providing expert budget support, data processing and training for teachers and administrators, among other things. County officials visited Berkeley Monday, providing a detailed explanation of what Berkeley school district administrators must do if they want the state to approve their budget.

The county office is also charged with operating some small, specialized schools that serve about 600 of the most “at risk” students in the county, ranging from high school dropouts to youth incarcerated in juvenile hall.

One of the primary issues of contention between Jordan and the board, until this week, was Jordan’s desire to provide a 10 percent raise for county office staff — something the board didn’t think was financially feasible.

Jordan argued that her top staffers were already underpaid, compared to other county offices, and would probably leave the Alameda office for greener pastures if a raise was not forthcoming. But board members said Jordan had failed to convince them that there was money in the budget to provide the raises without detracting from the programs and county-operated schools.

Another issue of contention came when Jordan tried to put an end to the practice in which the county office directed hundreds of thousands of dollars from its general fund to cover a continuing budget shortfall for county-operated schools. Jordan argued that the money should be directed back towards support services the county office provides to school districts – budget support, teacher training, etc. – while board members felt strongly that it should continue to be spent on school programs.

“County schools serve kids who come from probation, foster homes and child protective services,” said Jerome Wiggins, Alameda County Board of Education vice president. Wiggins represents an area that includes Berkeley. “They bring a lot of baggage to the table, and the services [the county provides] are expensive. We felt that the superintendent’s budget was making us take a step back in those services.”

In the end, with the mediation of individuals from the California County Superintendents Association and the Association of School Boards, the two sides reached a compromise in the budget approved Tuesday. They directed $200,000 of general fund money to school program support instead of the $850,000 originally sought by the board majority. Another $200,000 was designated for salary increases sought by Jordan.

In interviews Friday, however, both Jordan and Wiggins agreed that the differences in budget priorities have not been completely resolved. Jordan said she would continue to push for the county office to play a greater role in supporting the county’s 18 school districts.

Wiggins said he’s been on the board nearly 20 years. In all that time, he said, the county office has not provided much in the way of direct services to Alameda County school districts aside from the budget oversight mandated by law.

“A lot of the services that she’s talking about providing to school districts many of these school districts already do themselves,” Wiggins said.

Instead of trying to expand the office’s role as a service provider for other districts, Wiggins wants to see more resources directed to the schools operated directly by the county.

The budget approved Tuesday did add 10 staff positions to bolster the county office’s student programs.

In a game filled with quick momentum changes and several spectacular goals, the Cal Bears pulled out of a first-half funk to defeat Michigan, 4-2, in the final game of the Cal Invitational.

Cal forward Kyla Sabo scored two goals, including the go-ahead score in the 69th minute, and had one assist in the game at Edwards Stadium. Forwards Laura Schott and Kassie Doubrava also scored for the Bears, while the Wolverines got both goals from Amy Sullivant.

The Bears came out slowly to start the game, knocking the ball around the field nicely without getting into much of an attack. Sullivant gave them a jolt in the eighth minute, skipping past two Cal defenders and beating freshman goalkeeper Mallory Moser to open the scoring. The Wolverines were energized by taking the lead, and created several more opportunities in the next few minutes. Cal, on the other hand, was hitting through balls and flicking headers on to no one, sitting back on their heels.

“Hopefully we learned a lesson in the first half today,” Cal head coach Kevin Boyd said after the game. “We need to create an atmosphere before games that gets us playing hard, and we didn’t have that today.”

Doubrava nearly poached a goal in the 30th minute, going after a miskick by Michigan’s Vicky Whitley, but goalkeeper Bre Bennett just beat her to the ball. Schott got off a shot a minute later that Bennett saved easily, one of seven saves in the game.

The Wolverines nearly went up two goals shortly after, as forward Abby Crumpton blew by Kathleen Cain for an open shot, but Moser dove onto the ball.

The Bears finally broke through in the 25th minute, as midfielder Brittany Kirk put a cross high in the box. Schott took it on a bounce and volleyed it to the far post past Bennett to tie the score, and it looked like Cal was back in control.

But Sullivant wasn’t ready to give up. She took a pass from Theresa Dwyer just outside the box and drove a spectacular shot into the top of the net just over Moser’s outstretched hands.

Sullivant was taking advantage of a rare start up front on Sunday. The junior is usually the Wolverines’ left defender, a role in which she earned All-Big-10 honors last season. But Michigan coach Debbie Rademacher put her up front against the Bears to give her team more firepower, and it paid off.

“We wanted to get her mobility and strength up there,” Rademacher said. “She really came through for us today.”

Boyd’s team looked crestfallen after Sullivant’s second goal. They managed a few more shots on goal in the half, but were clearly out of kilter heading into the locker room.

The Bears continued to possess the ball most of the time in the second half, moving the ball from side to side with ease, but it took a set play for them to tie the score again. They earned a corner kick with a quick counter-attack, and Doubrava put the ball up into the sun. Sabo appeared to be the only one to see it, and she hit a header into the net before anyone could react.

It looked for a moment as if Sullivant had one more heroic moment up her sleeve, taking the ball past two defenders to the baseline and sliding it across the box just past Moser’s dive. But no Wolverines were in support, and the ball rolled merrily all the way through to the opposite sideline.

Boyd brought in freshman forward Kacy Hornor to give the Bears more energy up front, but Hornor blew her first chance, hitting a Kirk cross well over an open goal from eight yards out. But the University High (San Francisco) product didn’t give up, and ended up creating the go-ahead goal a few minutes later. Taking the ball near midfield, the 5-foot-9 Hornor shed two Michigan defenders, juked past another and put Sabo through with a through pass. Sabo slid the ball just under Bennett with the outside of her right foot for her second goal of the game, and the Bears finally had a lead after 69 minutes of play.

“Kacy has the ability to impact a game when she puts her mind to it,” Boyd said. “When she really wants a goal, she can go out and generate one.”

The final nail in the Wolverines’ coffin came in the 84th minute. Schott used a nifty heel chip to blow past a defender, then slid the ball to Sabo in the left corner. When Sabo put the ball across the box, Doubrava managed to put the ball into the back of the net with a sliding shot. It was a beautiful example of what Boyd pictured when he decided to put three forwards on the field this year, using all three attackers to get an important goal.

“The new system is more dynamic, and we create more opportunities up front,” Sabo said. “With teams concentrating on Laura so much this year, it gives the rest of us more chances to do something.”

Perhaps many read over the quote from Hillel member Scott Newman, (Campus activists call for end to ‘Israeli Apartheid,’Aug. 31) about the Zionist workshops recently held which left a few students feeling “a little undereducated.” However, as a member of Students for Justice in Palestine, one workshop title proved to be quite disturbing. This workshop, titled “Dealing with Muslim and Palestinian Groups on Campus” is shockingly prejudice, and simultaneously reflective of the double standard nature of media towards Zionism. Neither am I a Muslim, nor am I Palestinian, however, I sincerely take offense at the topics on which the Hillel members are being trained, and the black and white nature in which it is being presented.

The overly simplistic view presented in the article of Jew vs. Muslim is strategically misleading from the real issues: the denial of the Right of

Return for thousands of Palestinian refugees for over 53 years, the U.S. funded Israeli warplanes bombing Palestinian villages, hundreds of Palestinian schools being shut down. The list goes on and on. And yet the Hillel continues freely naming their workshops “Dealing with Muslim and Palestinian Groups.” Had Students for Justice in Palestine titled one of their workshops “Dealing with Jewish Groups on Campus,” what would the reaction be? Their would be a mad outcry of anti-semitism, and rightfully so. However, does that mean that prejudice and ignorant generalizations towards Muslims deserve no name? My participation in Students for Justice in Palestine is not to fight a religious battle, nor to win a battle of “how to answer” this or that organization. I am a part of this movement because I refuse to deny the rights of the blatantly oppressed society of Palestinians, as with so many other colonized societies.

All Florence Murray, 82, wanted when she called the city three weeks ago was some help installing a new water heater she had just purchased.

Murray, a retired day care worker, had no way of knowing the phone call would mobilize a small army of workers who would descend on her home to repair windows, replace old plumbing, weather strip doorways, seismically retrofit the walls and insulate her attic.

In addition to the work done on her home, she also now has a new microwave oven, newly installed energy-efficient fluorescent lighting and has new refrigerator on order.

And none of it cost Murray a cent.

“I called and they came the very next day and didn’t stop until they had done all this work,” Murray said. “And on top of the that they were punctual, professional and very kind.”

Murray, who has lived her Hearst Avenue home for 50 years, called a friend who works for the city and asked if there was some way she could get help installing a recently-purchased water heater to replace the one that had given out.

Her friend gave her the number of the Low-Income Minor Home Repair Program, a nonprofit which shares offices with the city’s Household Energy Assistance Program.

Murray explained her situation to Peter Menard Warwick of the home repair program and he sent her an application. The next day she stopped by the office for some help filling out the application form. She was assisted by Dwight Nathaniel, the weatherization supervisor for the energy assistance program.

“While we were filling out the application, I noticed that she qualified for a number of city programs,” Nathaniel said. “I knew we could do some things for her and I made an appointment for one of my inspectors to take a look at her home.”

Energy Officer Neil De Snoo said Murray only had to fill one application to receive the benefits of the three programs she qualified for.

“There’s real tight network in that office so applicants don’t have to go back and apply again and again for each program,” he said. “We can provided applicants with a total package.”

De Snoo said the city currently has a variety of programs to help seniors and low-income home owners and renters make their homes more energy efficient. He said the programs are funded by a combination of federal, state and city funds.

The three programs Murray qualified for were the Low Income Household Energy Assistance Program, which provides payment assistance for PG&E bills, the energy office’s Free Weatherization program, which installs insulation and energy efficient devices and the Minor Home Repair Program, which primarily assists seniors with home repairs.

Murray said she first moved into the home with her husband, Harold and their four children in the 1950s. She said her four children all went to school in Berkeley and still live in the Bay Area. Currently, she has two grandchildren living with her. Her husband, who worked at Mare Island, passed away in 1977.

She said she had never asked the city for help and was overwhelmed with the response she received.

“I had to call the mayor’s office and tell them how grateful I was,” she said. “I’m so happy to live in Berkeley, it’s a great city to be a senior in.”

The mayor’s executive assistant, Jennifer Drapeau, said that Murray’s call was great to receive. “It’s so nice to hear from someone like her who has lived here for so long,” she said. “It gave us all a good feeling the city was able to help her.”

Nathaniel said helping Murray gave everybody in the office a similar special feeling.

“We get a lot reward from helping everybody that comes to the office,” he said. “But every now and again someone like Mrs. Murray comes along that makes you feel a little bit extra special about being able to help.”

For more information about the Low-Income Household Energy Assistance Program call (510) 644-8544. For more information about the Low-Income Minor Home Repair Program call (510) 644-8546. For all other energy services call (510) 981-5434.

The California Highway Patrol reports a solo vehicle accident occurred on northbound Interstate 880 at Fifth Avenue in Oakland early Sunday morning, killing one man and leaving another with major injuries.

According to a CHP spokesman, at about 2:15 a.m., a 1995 black Chevrolet Camaro carrying two men veered off the road and rolled over several times down a right-hand shoulder embankment and across the Oak Street off-ramp before coming to rest on Sixth Street.

The spokesman said the two victims were transported to Highland Hospital.

SAN JOSE – Union leaders and workers took to church pulpits on Labor Day weekend to demand legal status for undocumented immigrant workers.

“The problem of legalization is a reality. Our faith tells us we have to create a more just community,” said Rosalino Pedres, a union organizer who spoke after Mass at Christ the King Catholic Church in San Jose. “We can make a difference if we decide to put our faith into action.”

Workers and labor leaders also voiced their support for legalizing immigrant workers in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles and other cities with large immigrant populations,

Their appeals came as President Bush and Mexican President Vicente Fox prepared to meet later this week to discuss issues including immigration reform.

However, a detailed plan for granting legal status to some of the 3 million Mexicans living illegally in the United States will not be announced, as some had hoped. Facing conservative opposition, Bush abandoned plans for announcing an agreement on immigration during Fox’s visit, and instead they will outline principles and a framework for immigration reform.

Pedres asked church members to imagine being unable to buy homes, being forced by landlords to leave their apartments and losing their jobs after working for many years. Undocumented immigrants have no protections against these things, said Pedres, 36, a former janitor who came to the United States from Mexico in 1986.

“Who would support a legalization in this room?” Pedres asked. Most of the 225 people attending the service silently raised their hands.

The annual labor-in-the-pulpits events are organized by the AFL-CIO and the National Interfaith Committee for Worker Justice. At other churches, mosques and synagogues across the country, labor and religious leaders spoke about workers’ issues including living wages and affordable housing.

After the service in San Jose, union organizers asked church members to sign cards asking officials to support national immigration reform and legalization, affordable housing and tenants rights.

Legalization “will help everybody that’s undocumented. I suffered a lot so I could be in this country,” said Luis Garcia, 51, who attended the services. “I needed to give a better future to my children.”

Garcia came to the United States from Mexico in 1970 in search of job opportunities. He benefited from amnesty in 1986, when Congress granted legal status to 2.7 million illegal immigrants.

Since then, Garcia said, “I’ve been a lot more at peace. Before then, I had that fear the INS could grab me at anytime and I could lose my dreams.”

Others said granting undocumented immigrants legal status could make a difference for their children. Currently, undocumented students do not qualify for the lower tuition charged residents who attend in-state colleges and universities, even if they have lived there most of their lives. Instead, they must pay higher college and university tuition charged to out-of-state students.

Maria Nunez, 42, said she can’t afford that for her 17-year-old son, Alberto Reyes.

“He’s been a very good student and he really wants to go to college and he says ’Mom, I can’t dream because I can’t go to college,”’ said Nunez, who is undocumented.

Nunez said she has been forced to leave janitorial jobs when employers find she is undocumented, forcing her to jump from job to job.

“I’ve worked hard, and many times I’ve been left out of work,” she said.

SAN FRANCISCO – A San Francisco man was arrested in connection with a carjacking with a child in the car.

The child’s grandmother, who was loading shopping bags into the back of the car with her husband, was hurt when she jumped in front of the car to prevent the man from driving off. The grandfather hailed another driver and followed the car onto Highway 101 and then onto side streets.

The carjacker stopped and fled on foot, and the infant was still inside, unharmed.

Residents of the neighborhood told the police a man matching the carjacker’s description had gotten on a Muni bus, where he was arrested.

OAKLAND – BART’s largest workers’ unions issued a 72-hour strike notice Saturday night as negotiations over a requested salary and benefits increase continued through the long weekend.

The unions said they gave the required notice to alert the public to the possibility of a strike, which would begin 12:01 a.m. Wednesday if workers do not receive a contract offer they find satisfactory.

On Friday, BART’s board of directors presented a proposal to the unions offering a wage and benefits increase of about 20 percent over the next four years.

“We feel that’s an excellent package... we feel it keeps our workers at the top of the industry,” BART General Manager Thomas Margro told KCBS Radio. “It responds to their concerns about the cost of living in the Bay area.”

Union members have said the offer is not enough to keep them off the picket lines and have presented BART directors with a counteroffer.

BART spokesman Mike Healy said Friday that management was prepared to negotiate through the long weekend.

BART commuters already were searching for alternative transportation in case they return from the holiday to a silent fleet of trains.

SAN FRANCISCO – Thirteen new power plants are in the works for the San Francisco Bay area, a new home for the structures that was once considered off-limits to their development.

The Bay Area often has to rely on power from other areas, but can only bring in a limited amount because of high-voltage wire constraints. The 13 proposed power plants could help alleviate that problem by offering more than 6,200 megawatts, enough to power about 4.5 million homes.

Some of the plants may not get built, but the number is still high for the area. The only other area with so much new power proposed is the large area encompassed by Kern and San Luis Obispo counties.

That concerns some residents, who aren’t sure there’s a need for so many new power plants, especially the 600-megawatts Metcalf Energy Center in south San Jose, that some fear will pollute the air and water.

But California needs the electricity, including extra power during critical periods, say officials with Calpine Corp., the San Jose-based power company that hopes to build the Metcalf center.

At least one of the proposed projects is in trouble, though. The 550-megawat plant that AES would like to build in South San Francisco has made little progress in the last three years, and a spokesman for the company said its future is unclear.

MONTEREY – A Monterey County Superior Court judge has ordered strawberry growers near two schools to limit the amount of the pesticide methyl bromide that they apply to their fields near two schools.

Agricultural officials complained that the ruling, which affects Pajaro Middle School and La Joya School in Salinas, could drive some growers out of business.

The ruling was the result of a suit, brought by Sergio Carrillo who lives near the Pajaro school, against the state Department of Pesticide Regulation and the county Agricultural Commissioner’s office. The suit maintains that state and county officials have not protected people living near the schools after air quality tests showed levels of the pesticide that exceeded state guidelines.

The state’s target threshold is 1 part per billion for children over an eight-week period and 2 parts per billion for adults. In October and November, the state Department of Pesticide Regulation tested the air at six schools in Monterey and Santa Cruz counties. The air around the Pajaro school measured 7.7 parts per billion, and 3.8 parts per billion near La Joya School.

SAN FRANCISCO – Management of California’s energy crunch increasingly is falling under the purview of Gov. Gray Davis, which allows decisions affecting electric bills to be made in secret, a state official who opposes Davis said Friday.

Secretary of State Bill Jones also said managers of the state’s power grid have ordered power plants to reduce their electricity output so power previously bought by the state for billions of dollars could fetch a better price.

Jones, who plans to seek the Republican nomination to challenge Davis in the 2002 gubernatorial race, said he will ask federal energy regulators to investigate such incidents. He called on the state Democratic leadership to help maintain public scrutiny of the state’s energy decisions.

“The charges of market manipulation deserve an answer now,” Jones said at a news conference.

Lorie O’Donley, a spokeswoman for the Independent System Operator that manages California’s power grid, said that asking power plants to boost or reduce their output is a matter of course and necessary for balancing supply and demand. Unlike natural gas, extra electricity cannot be stored for later use.

“Part of balancing the system is ordering plants to increase their output or ramp down their output,” O’Donley said.

The state has accused several power companies of illegally driving up electricity prices using the same methods, and has asked the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to order those companies to refund the state $9 billion in overcharges.

A FERC administrative law judge has indicated the state might see $1 billion in refunds.

The state has committed about $43 billion to buying power over the next 15 years. Due to increased conservation, cool weather and increased output this summer, the state was forced several times to sell a sudden surplus of power for pennies on the dollar, losing millions.

Jones accused officials with the Department of Water Resources — the agency which since January has spent more than $9 billion buying power for the customers of three ailing utilities — of urging the ISO to order power plants to produce less power so the state’s energy surplus would shrink.

Oscar Hidalgo, a DWR spokesman, said the water department follows the ISO’s lead, and that the DWR had not asked generators to ramp their electricity output up or down.

Jones, along with consumer advocates, utilities and business groups are protesting an upcoming decision by the Public Utilities Commission that would allow the DWR to pass rate hikes straight through to electric bills without public review.

Davis has said such autonomy is necessary to show Wall Street the state has a dependable — and adjustable — inflow of ratepayer money. The state plans to issue some $12.5 billion in bonds to recoup some of its power expenses.

“We need to keep oversight and accountability within the PUC,” Jones said. “Why would the people of Califorina want to lose what little oversight they have?”

WILMINGTON – Wedged into a blue-collar neighborhood by the sea and partially walled off by cinder blocks sits an unlikely memorial to one of the bloodiest labor strikes in U.S. history.

Hiring halls like the one for International Longshore and Warehouse Union Local 13 are among the most important prizes won by Depression-era dockworkers who were beaten, shot and tear-gassed while picketing for better conditions on July 5, 1934.

Now the dockworkers’ employers at the Pacific Maritime Association want to scrap the halls in favor of a call-in or Internet-based system they hope would boost productivity by 30 percent or more. Union members say they won’t let it happen.

The issue is expected to be a sticking point when the longshore workers’ contract with West Coast cargo carriers ends in July.

The carriers deal with every western port between Canada and Mexico, handling cargo that represents an estimated 7 to 9 percent of the U.S. economy. Among other goals, the companies want to install equipment that would speed the movement of cargo and better track containers.

They also hope to shorten training periods and improve safety by having dockworkers take permanent assignments from individual employers, rather than getting a new employer with each shift, as is currently done. That proposal would eliminate the need for hiring halls.

“Our average start time on a ship is 15 minutes to half-hour late,” PMA president Joe Miniace said. “That translates into a lot of lost productivity over the course of a week, month, year.”

Union members retort that the halls are the heart of their organization, and without a gathering place union locals would lose strength.

“The chances of doing away with the hiring hall is absolutely zero,” said Gig Larson, a business agent for ILWU Local 32 in Everett, Wash. “The employers would have to pay us so much money it isn’t even funny.”

Larson said he doesn’t like to imagine what labor legend Harry Bridges would think of the proposal. Bridges, who led the rank and file during the 1934 strike, is still remembered during the union’s annual Harry Bridges Day.

“He would roll over in his grave if we gave up the hiring hall,” Larson said.

During the pre-hiring-hall era, men stood by the waterfront for days, seeking work from foremen patrolling the area.

The foremen, known as “little dukes” because of their influence, demanded bribes and even sexual favors from workers’ wives before offering assignments, according to historians.

“It was almost like a slave market and was deeply resented,” said David Wellman, a sociology professor and author of the book “The Union Makes Us Strong.”

“In modern sociological language, it would be called a ritual of humiliation. To get work, you had to humiliate yourself,” Wellman said.

After 1934, the halls eliminated that corruption by giving the union more control over work assignments. The system grew democratic, with union members who had logged the fewest work hours getting first dibs on new assignments.

Today roughly one-third of the nation’s unions, mostly in the building and construction trades, use hiring halls, according to the AFL-CIO.

At Local 13, workers gather to play poker at a cafeteria-style table and smoke cigarettes under a “No Smoking” sign when not seeking work.

Last month, the Local 13 longshore hall handed out 20,000 individual assignments, using a squadron of dispatchers on headsets to announce jobs ranging from carpentry to crane driving.

“The system works, and it keeps everybody in a balance,” said Local 13 President Ramon Ponce de Leon Jr.

Miniace said he respects workers’ feelings about the halls and is willing to keep them open during heavy work days. But he’s also determined to bring what he calls an out-of-date system into the new millennium.

“As we move into a new century, we have to adapt to a new environment,” Miniace said.

“It’s not as big a lake as it used to be,” said Scott Deitzel of Citrus Heights as he pulled his 24-foot inboard up a makeshift ramp. “There’s a lot of new islands now.”

State and local water officials aren’t panicking. Not yet.

But they’re launching a new drought-preparedness Web site this month and a series of workshops this fall just in case this winter is as dry as last.

Another dry winter could presage a drought that could have far-reaching consequences for the state’s rapid development and the lush irrigated farmland that sends fruits and vegetables across the nation.

“We’ve had six good years, six wet-to-average years in a row, so we haven’t had to worry in a while,” said Jeanine Jones, drought preparedness manager for the Department of Water Resources.

Things have changed for the worse since California’s last drought, which ran six years from 1987 to 1992 and forced half the state’s counties to declare drought emergencies.

The state has added more than 6 million people, and it’s negotiating with other states to cut its overuse of Colorado River water. And environmental concerns have moved to the forefront to protect San Francisco Bay, the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta, and five fish species that have been declared endangered since the last dry spell.

“I guess it’s too many people, not enough water and electricity,” said Mike Arcuri of Roseville, pointing across drying Folsom Lake. “I grew up water skiing out there, and it was never like this.”

Though statewide precipitation wasn’t much below average last winter, an early snowmelt and unusually hot spring drew reservoir levels down early, said Pierre Stevens, the state’s lead water supply forecaster.

Some relatively small coastal reservoirs actually are above average, Stevens said, but the large inland storage lakes are substantially below average.

“The reservoir levels were dropping in early summer when they normally would have been rising,” he said. “Coming off a string of wet years before that, that’s what people are remembering. So it’s not that unusual. The big concern is what happens if it’s another dry year?”

The state is planning five workshops in October and November for large water agencies that could be hit hard by a drought, and six seminars during the same period for rural homeowners who could see their private wells dry up during a prolonged dry spell.

Rural residents who depend on well water, dryland ranchers and isolated North Coast and Sierra foothill communities are the first likely to be hit, according to a DWR report last year titled: “Preparing for California’s Next Drought.”

Residents generally respond by hauling water and drilling new wells, further draining the water table. During the last drought’s peak, 25,000 new wells were drilled each year, up from fewer than 15,000 in non-drought years.

The worst economic damage would likely affect the western San Joaquin Valley, where dry conditions are exacerbated by federal water restrictions, the report predicted.

Already this year, many San Joaquin fields have been left unplanted. Yet the water-restricted areas of the valley are where much of the growth has occurred in orchards and vineyards that need water in good and bad years.

The DWR already is considering whether it would operate a water purchasing program — buying water from those who have it and distributing it to those who need it — as it did during the last drought. Yet, nearly a third of California’s counties have since restricted water exports in an effort to save the increasingly scarce resource for their own needs.

Falling lake levels and farmers’ confrontation with federal authorities over water in the Klamath Basin have rekindled the debate over California’s water supply, as some warn a water shortage could soon dwarf this year’s energy crisis.

Sen. Maurice Johannessen, R-Redding, called the Klamath conflict along the California-Oregon border “the canary in the mine” that keeled over to warn of what he fears will be “a major water crisis.”

The state has constructed no major reservoirs in more than 30 years, and a report last week by a Senate select committee chaired by Johannessen warned that the state isn’t building new storage fast enough.

It is far more politically and environmentally feasible to enlarge existing reservoirs than to build new ones, said Robert Stackhouse, manager of the Central Valley Project Water Association, serving 3 million acres and several communities.

Plans are underway to raise dams at Lake Shasta near Redding in Northern California, Millerton Lake on the San Joaquin River near Fresno, the Los Vaqueros Reservoir near Livermore, and to build a new Sites Reservoir near Williams. But those projects are five to seven years from construction.

In addition, there are efforts to bank water underground, which brings less environmental damage but takes more energy to store and recover.

“We wish we had more reservoirs, given the environmental needs and growing water needs throughout the state,” said California Farm Bureau spokesman David Kranz. “Even full reservoir levels don’t necessarily equate to full water supplies for farmers as they used to.”

There she stood, at the same spot she’s been at for decades, with stop sign in hand and wearing the obligatory fluorescent orange cap, vest, and gloves that are supposed to – but don’t always – alert drivers to her presence.

“As loud as I dress they still don’t see me!” she chuckles.

Wednesday was the first day of school, not only for some John Muir Elementary School students, but for crossing guard Lena Hedge. Actually, it was Hedge’s 34th first day of school and she wasn’t taking any chances.

Up early and out the door, she was at her post where Claremont Crescent meets Claremont Avenue to make sure both wide-eyed kindergartners and the veteran fifth-graders made it safely across.

Hedge rules her patch of road and sidewalk with love and discipline and it works: she’s made it more than three decades without a single accident involving a student under her supervision.

“I have my rules and ain’t nobody been hurt yet.”

At the age of 79, Hedge is far and away the most senior of the 21 crossing guards and one alternate employed by the Berkeley Police Traffic Bureau.

Stand with her for 15 minutes and you can see what a neighborhood institution she is. Ten cars don’t pull out of Claremont Crescent on to Claremont Avenue without a smile and a wave.

A man rides by on his bike and calls: “Hi Mrs. Hedge, good morning!”

She waves back and comments: “I crossed his kids, they’re lawyers now.”

Hedge, who is African-American, has been at the same crosswalk since 1968 when the Berkeley Unified School District became the first district in the United States to voluntarily use buses to integrate its school system. She was reassigned to John Muir, from Washington Elementary, to help ease the transition of integration.

Even in a city as apparently liberal as Berkeley was in the late ‘60s, that transition wasn’t an easy one for some people.

“Oh yeah, at first I got called names, people threw some things at me like orange peels, but it stopped,” she said.

Growing up, “smack dab in Atlanta,” Hedge lived in the same neighborhood as the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and attended the very church where his father preached.

“We were playmates,” is how she remembers the young Dr. King.

That made Thursday, April 4, 1968, the day King was assassinated, all the harder. Recalling that day, Hedge solemnly pointed to the sidewalk and said, “That was a hard day ... I was right here.”

Despite city police traffic statistics that say there’s been only one auto accident near her crosswalk in the last year, Hedge believes that Claremont Avenue traffic is just as dangerous as it was when she started.

“It’s all the same as far as I’m concerned,” she says above the din of road construction and honking horns at the Ashby/Claremont intersection just down the street. “People are still in a hurry.”

Saturday, Sept. 1

Free Sailboat Rides

1 - 4 p.m.

Cal Sailing Club

Berkeley Marina

The Cal Sailing Club, a nonprofit sailing and windsurfing cooperative, give free rides on a first come, first served bases on the first full weekend of each month. Wear warm clothes and bring a change of clothes in case you get wet. Children must be at least 5 years old and must be accompanies by an adult. www.cal-sailing.org

Sunday, Sept. 2

Free Sailboat Rides

1 - 4 p.m.

Cal Sailing Club

Berkeley Marina

The Cal Sailing Club, a nonprofit sailing and windsurfing cooperative, give free rides on a first come, first served bases on the first full weekend of each month. Wear warm clothes and bring a change of clothes in case you get wet. Children must be at least 5 years old and must be accompanies by an adult.

Monday, Sept. 3

Intensive Production Urban Gardening Training

10 a.m. - 4 p.m.

Santa Fe Bar & Grill

1310 University Ave.

Learn ways to intensively and organically grow produce for your own use or for an urban market garden. A hands-on training in the garden located behind the restaurant and potluck lunch at 1 p.m. Free community training, meets the first Monday each month. 841-1110

Potluck Picnic and Poetry

noon - 4 p.m.

Live Oak Park

Walnut and Rose streets

Bay Area Poets Coalition hosts a Labor Day potluck picnic followed by an open poetry reading. All are welcome to bring food and poetry to share. 527-9905 poetalk @ aol.com

East Bay’s crisis of working poverty to be investigated at the hearing. Featuring a panel and audience of East Bay political, religious, labor and community leaders, including: Congresswoman Barbara Lee, Alameda County Supervisor Keith Carson and others. 893-7106

Tuesday, Sept. 4

Intelligent Conversation

7 - 9 p.m.

Berkeley Richmond Jewish Community Center

A discussion group open to all, regardless of age, religion, viewpoint, etc. This time the discussion will center on friendships: deep, superficial, and what their obligations are. Informally led by Robert Berend, who founded similar groups in L.A., Menlo Park, and Prague. Bring light snacks/drinks to share. Free. 527-5332

If the Students for Justice in Palestine wish to start a movement to end the most vicious racism seen in the Middle East, rather than demanding the university divest from Israel they should call for an end to our government’s funding of the Palestinian Authority.

After all, Yassir Arafat and his morally bankrupt supporters refused Barak’s most reasoned proposal for a Palestinian state with a capital in East Jerusalem, advocating instead violence in the guise of an “Intifada” whose real aim is nothing short of forcing all the Jews out of the Middle East. To any fair observer, if this were not true, why did Arafat refuse Barak’s terms ... indeed what more could Barak have offered?

Instead, our government continues to send money to the real genesis of ethnic hate, Arafat and his authoritarian authority. I mean what could be a more blatant manifestation of “apartheid” than the indiscriminate blowing up of Israelis, simply because they are Jews? Arafat not only knows who plans this, but condones their activity by giving them the freedom sans even the smallest iota of criticism to continue their barbarically murderous acts of ethnic, religious and political bigotry.

In sum, I hope those who truly oppose hate as the Students for Justice in Palestine say they do will join me in calling for an end to all support to Arafat and his thugs. No one is a bigger obstacle to a Palestinian homeland than its chief supporter, the Palestinian Authority.

This free family-friendly community gathering features a day of poetry, music and more. Artists such as poet Robert Haas, writer Maxine Hong Kingston and musicians Grito Serpentino will be complemented by River Village exhibits and interactive events for the entire family.

Watershed Festival brings together citizens and artists to apply our imagination to the problem of environmental despoiling. To highlight connections between literature and place, celebrate poetry, form a partnership between literary and environmental communities.

Berkeley itself is a watershed. Strawberry Creek runs down from the Contra Costa Hills to the bay. Beginning at 10 a.m. at Oxford and Center poets and others will walk three blocks to the Watershed Festival stage, taking the route of the creek as it tunnels beneath downtown Berkeley.

In this symbolic “daylighting” of Strawberry Creek poets and others will discuss plans to open the creek to daylight.

What we have done with Berkeley’s watershed, this place where we live, is analogous to what we are doing with many things in our lives, putting them away, trying to bury them.

But they’re there. The nuclear waste radiates away, the creek winds its way to the bay.

In our symbolic opening up of Strawberry Creek, we call attention to it, to our connection to it. We release our trapped spirits.

Sedge Thomson’s West Coast Live Radio Show Sept. 1: Rita Moreno, has won Oscar, Tony, Emmy and Grammy awards for her work on stage and screen. Mark Wing-Davey, director of “36 Views,” opening at the Berkeley Repertory Theater. Kent Nerburn, author of “Road Angels.” The Shotgun Players open a window into their show: “Winesburg Ohio: Tales of the Grotesque.” Julia Morgan Theatre, 2640 College Ave.; Sept. 29: Nancy Miford, author of “Savage Beauty.” West African folk music with The Nigerian Brothers. Blues roots piano by Caroline Dahl. The Freight and Salvage, 1111 Addison St. All shows 10 a.m. - noon. 252-9214 www. wcl.org

“Winesburg, Ohio: Tales of the Grotesque” Sept. 6 through Sept. 16, Wed. - Sat. 8:30 p.m., Sun. 5 p.m. The Shotgun Players and Word For Word team up for a production of Sherwood Anderson’s deceptively simple tale of neglected souls who fade into the shadows around us. $22, Wednesdays are “Pay What You Can.” Julia Morgan Theatre, 2640 College Ave. 655-0813 www.shotgunplayers. org

“Murder Dressed in Satin” by Victor Lawhorn, ongoing. A mystery-comedy dinner show at The Madison about a murder at the home of Satin Moray, a club owner and self-proclaimed socialite with a scarlet past. Dinner is included in the price of the theater ticket. $47.50 Lake Merritt Hotel, 1800 Madison St., Oakland. 239-2252 www.acteva.com/go/havefun

“50 Years of Photography in Japan 1951 - 2001” Sept. 5 through Nov. 5: An exhibition from The Yomiuri Shimbun, the world’s largest daily newspaper with a national morning circulation of 10,300,000. Photographs of work, love, community, culture and disasters of Japan as seen by Japanese news photographers. Opening Reception Sept. 5: 6 - 8 p.m. open to the public; Mon. - Fri. 8 a.m. - 6 p.m. U.C. Berkeley, Graduate School of Journalism, North Gate Hall, Hearst and Euclid. Free. 642-3383

UC Berkeley Museum of Paleontology Lobby, Valley Life Sciences Building, UC Berkeley “Tyrannosaurus Rex,” ongoing. A 20 foot by 40 foot replica of the fearsome dinosaur made from casts of bones of the most complete T. rex skeleton yet excavated. When unearthed in Montana, the bones were all lying in place with only a small piece of the tailbone missing. “Pteranodon” A suspended skeleton of a flying reptile with a wingspan of 22-23 feet. The pteranodon lived at the same time as the dinosaurs. Free. Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Saturday and Sunday, 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. 642-1821

UC Berkeley Phoebe Hearst Museum of Anthropology will close its exhibition galleries for renovation. It will reopen in early 2002. On View until Oct. 1 : “Ishi and the Invention of Yahi Culture.” “Sites Along the Nile: Rescuing Ancient Egypt.” “The Art of Research: Nelson Graburn and the Aesthetics of Inuit Sculpture.” “Tzintzuntzan, Mexico: Photographs by George Foster.” $2 general; $1 seniors; $.50 children age 17 and under; free on Thursdays. Wednesday, Friday through Sunday, 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.; Thursday, 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Kroeber Hall, Bancroft Way and College Avenue. 643-7648 or www.qal.berkeley.edu/~hearst/

Lawrence Hall of Science “Science in Toyland,” through Sept. 9. Exhibit uses toys to demonstrate scientific principles and to help develop children's thinking processes. Susan Cerny’s collection of over 200 tops from around the world. “Space Weather,” through Sept. 2. Learn about solar cycles, space weather, the cause of the Aurorae and recent discoveries made by leading astronomers. This interactive exhibit lets visitors access near real-time data from the Sun and space, view interactive videos and find out about a variety of solar activities. “Within the Human Brain,” ongoing. Visitors test their cranial nerves, play skeeball, master mazes, match musical tones and construct stories inside a simulated “rat cage” of learning experiments. “Saturday Night Stargazing,” First and third Saturdays each month. 8 - 10 p.m., LHS plaza. Space Weather Exhibit now - Sept. 2; now - Sept. 9 Science in Toyland; Saturdays 12:30 - 3:30 p.m. $7 for adults; $5 for children 5-18; $3 for children 3-4. 642-5132

Holt Planetarium Programs are recommended for age 8 and up; children under age 6 will not be admitted. $2 in addition to regular museum admission. “Constellations Tonight” Ongoing. Using a simple star map, learn to identify the most prominent constellations for the season in the planetarium sky. Daily, 3:30 p.m. $7 general; $5 seniors, students, disabled, and youths age 7 to 18; $3 children age 3 to 5 ; free children age 2 and younger. Daily 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Centennial Drive, UC Berkeley 642-5132 or www.lhs.berkeley.edu

Cal’s men’s basketball hopes took a nosedive on Thursday, as top recruit Julian Sensley was ruled ineligible for next season by the NCAA.

Sensley, a 6-foot-8, 230-pound small forward, fell short of the minimum SAT score to play Division I sports. Cal appealed to the NCAA for Sensley to be eligible because of a documented learning disability, but were turned down.

Sensley, ranked as the best small forward in the 2001 recruiting class by ESPN.com, was expected to jump directly into the starting lineup in departed star Sean Lampley’s spot.

Sensley issued a statement following the NCAA ruling declaring his intent to file a personal appeal.

“My goal is to pursue all avenues available to me to become eligible and be at Cal,” said Sensley, who will not be enrolled at Cal this fall because the school does not accept partial academic qualifiers.

Cal guard Donte Smith won a similar appeal three years ago. Smith didn’t win his second appeal until January, however, and chose to redshirt the 1999 season.

A native of Kailua, Hawaii, Sensley spent the past two years at St. Thomas More School in Oakdale, Conn.

Cal head coach Ben Braun is still hopeful that his star recruit will be able to play this season.

“Julian has not wavered on his commitment to Cal and he intends to pursue his options to become a full qualifier,” Braun said in a statement.

By John Geluardi
Daily Planet staff
By John Geluardi
Daily Planet staff

Saturday September 01, 2001

The Water Transit Authority held a second meeting at Berkeley City Hall Friday to discuss an evolving plan to link San Francisco Bay communities with an expanded ferry service.

According to Councilmember Kriss Worthington, the WTA held a previous meeting on Aug. 10, attended by approximately 15 ferry supporters. Worthington said he called Friday’s meeting so environmentalists could air concerns about potential impacts of ferry terminals in Berkeley and other locations around the San Francisco Bay.

“The WTA didn’t notify environmental organizations for the previous meeting,” Worthington said. “And I wanted to make sure they heard a wider range of opinions.”

The California Legislature created the San Francisco Bay Area Water Transit Authority in 1999 for the purpose of developing a long-range plan to relieve traffic congestion by expanding ferry service. The project was funded with $12 million out of the State Transportation Funds in 2000.

Four WTA representatives, including Chief Executive Officer Tom Bertken, presented the working plans for the expanded ferry system. Currently they are studying the possibility of adding as many as 23 ferry terminals to the nine that already service the Bay Area. In addition to Berkeley, some potential East Bay sites include Martinez, Benicia, Crockett and the Oakland Airport.

The WTA began presenting the working plan to city officials and citizens groups in Bay Area cities in late July.

Friday’s meeting was attended by 12 people, including former El Cerrito Mayor Norman La Force, who is now chairman of the Sierra Club’s East Bay Public Lands Committee. Those who attended the meeting mostly had questions about the environmental impacts of a ferry terminal at two possible locations in Berkeley, the end of Gilman Street and the Berkeley Marina.

The Berkeley Marina was the temporary site of a ferry terminal during a BART strike in the 1970s and eight months in 1989 after the Loma Prieta Earthquake.

The attendees expressed concerns about the impact of dredging the shallow waters at the Gilman Street location, the potential construction of a parking garage at the Berkeley Marina and possible negative impact on existing public transportation.

Bertken and WTA Planning Manager Steve Castleberry stressed during the meeting that the working plan is in the early stages and is being evaluated primarily by potential ridership. Castleberry said once the potential locations are determined to be viable, each specific site will undergo a thorough environmental review.

The WTA has a deadline of Dec. 12, 2002, to submit an operations plan, which will recommend priorities for ferry routes, types of vessels and required facilities. The plan will also present estimated costs and suggest funding sources.

“The biggest thing right now is finding out if anybody is going to ride these things and if they’re not then there’s no need for environmental studies,” said Castleberry pointing to a map of proposed ferry routes and terminals. “These are routes we are studying and not what we will be recommending to the Legislature.”

But several attendees said environmental issues should be considered at all stages of the plan’s development. La Force was concerned about the impact of traffic at the East Bay Shoreline State Park.

“People worked for 40 years to create a place to enjoy the peace and serenity of the Bay and you can’t have that if car after car and bus after bus are bringing people down to the waterfront to catch the ferry,” he said.

Steve Geller, who is on the board of directors of the Alliance for AC Transit and Bus Riders Union, said he was worried the proposed ferry system would take riders away from existing public transportation systems.

“Water transit should do something to improve current traffic congestion by getting people out of their cars and not off of AC Transit and BART,” he said. “If it doesn’t do that, then why bother?”

Worthington said taking money away from existing public transportation would not achieve the goal of reducing automobile traffic.

“If they take money from the highway funds that would be cool,” Worthington said. “But the danger is they will take money away from AC Transit and then we’d have worse service, which would result in a net loss of people using public transit.”

WTA Public Affairs Officer Heidi Machen said no funding sources have been identified, but said possibilities include federal and state funds and possibly raising bridge tolls. She said diverting money from existing transportation sources had not been ruled out.

“One reason why we are holding these meetings is to get public input, which will affect how we proceed,” she said.

Perhaps many read over the quote from Hillel member Scott Newman, (Campus activists call for end to ‘Israeli Apartheid’, Aug. 31) about the Zionist workshops recently held which left a few students feeling “a little undereducated”. However, as a member of Students for Justice in Palestine, one workshop title proved to be quite disturbing. This workshop, titled “Dealing with Muslim and Palestinian Groups on Campus” is shockingly prejudiced, and simultaneously reflective of the double standard nature of media towards Zionism. Neither am I a Muslim, nor am I Palestinian, however, I sincerely take offense at the topics on which the Hillel members are being trained, and the black and white nature in which it is being presented.

The overly simplistic view presented in the article of Jew vs. Muslim is strategically misleading from the real issues: the denial of the Right of Return for thousands of Palestinian refugees for over 53 years, the U.S. funded Israeli warplanes bombing Palestinian villages, hundreds of Palestinian schools being shut down,...the list goes on and on. And yet the Hillel continues freely naming their workshops “Dealing with Muslim and Palestinian Groups.” Had Students for Justice in Palestine titled one of their workshops “Dealing with Jewish Groups on Campus,” what would the reaction be? Their would be a mad outcry of anti-semitism, and rightfully so. However, does that mean that prejudice and ignorant generalizations towards Muslims deserve no name?

My participation in Students for Justice in Palestine is not to fight a religious battle, nor to win a battle of “how to answer” this or that organization. I am a part of this movement because I refuse to deny the rights of the blatantly oppressed society of Palestinians, as with so many other colonized societies.

Kevin Boyd said his team would be strong on the attack. It looks like he was right.

Boyd’s Cal Bears started their season with a bang, as four different players scored goals in a 4-0 win over Pacific in the first round of the Cal Invitational. Midfielders Kim Yokers and Kim Stocklmeir each had two assists in the victory.

“With four players scoring goals, I think it shows that we have great depth in terms of scoring,” Boyd said. “We need to spread the scoring around more this year.”

The need for more threats up front this year isn’t a knock on last year’s top scorer, junior Laura Schott. But Schott, who scored 23 goals last season, is going to be a marked woman all year as teams try to shut her down. So Sabo others must make teams pay for lavishing so much attention on their All-America teammate.

“Laura is going to be a marked player this year, so we need other players to score to take the pressure off of her,” Boyd said.

Schott had several opportunities to score just before and after halftime on Thursday, but didn’t manage to find the back of the net until the 68th minute, scoring the final goal of the game. Midfielder Kim Yokers played a beautiful through ball to Schott, who burst past a defender to collect the ball, then dribbled around substitute goalkeeper Cassandra Kaeding and slotted the ball into the open net.

“I was a little frustrated for a while, but they can’t all go in,” Schott said.

The game started slowly, as both teams shook off the offseason rust. The crowd of 300 at Edwards Stadium didn’t see much offense early. Cal forward Krysti Whalen had the best scoring chance, clashing with Pacific goalkeeper Megan Pickering for a ball and sending it out of bounds 20 minutes into the match. Schott created a shot for herself a minute later, beating two defenders, but Pickering saved her long shot easily.

Soon after that shot, the Tigers started hammering Schott, as Pickering crashed into her legs after the whistle. Seconds later, Schott took an elbow to the mouth from Pacific defender Angela Allgaier. The Cal star was on the receiving end of a lot of hard shots on Thursday, a pattern that will likely continue well into the season as teams try to slow her down.

The Bears finally broke through for a goal in the 27th minute, and it came from a surprising source. Defender Ashley Mueller put a long ball into the Pacific box, and midfielder Kassie Doubrava hit a glancing header past Pickering for first career goal at Cal. Doubrava had come into the game just seven minutes earlier for Whalen, giving Boyd a quick payoff on his first substitution of the season.

Sabo quickly put the Bears ahead by two goals with a cracking shot from just outside the box into the top of the net in the 30th minute.

Pacific had their best scoring chance early in the second half when Cal goalkeeper Mallory Moser punched a Tiger cross along her own goal line. But a Cal defender cleared the ball off the line to preserve the shutout.

Moser, a freshman from Branson High in Marin County, looked tentative at times in her first college match, deferring to her defenders several times instead to taking charge. But Moser is very athletic and looked comfortable in the net, making two saves in the game.

“Mallory was solid, and she didn’t make any mistakes, which is what we need from her,” Boyd said.

The Bears third goal came from a corner kick, as Yokers put the ball just over Pickering’s reach in the goalmouth. The ball bounced off of two Tigers before Cal’s Lucy Brining knocked it into the net for her second goal as a Bear.

Overall, it was a fairly easy win for the Bears, who broke in three new starters on defense as well as Moser in the net.

“We were more organized than I thought we would be,” Boyd said. “Our defense was obviously a concern with the new players, but it was quite good today.”

The Bears play Michigan at 4:30 on Sunday to close out the tournament. The Wolverines fell to Loyola Marymount, 3-2, in the tournament’s opening game. Loyola Marymount and Pacific will play at 2 p.m. Sunday.

A federal district court judge decided Friday that the lawsuit brought by two environmental activists against the FBI and the city of Oakland for false arrest will be decided on “narrow grounds.” Lawyers for Darryl Cherney and the estate of Judi Bari, Mendocino county Earth First! activists, will not be allowed to mention historical “dirty-tricks” campaigns conducted by the FBI.

The trial is scheduled to begin Oct. 1.

The plaintiffs will also be barred from using the FBI’s investigation of an Arizona Earth First! group as evidence that the Bureau was actively seeking to discredit the environmental activists and their movement.

On May 24, 1990, a pipe bomb exploded in Bari’s car while she and Cherney were driving through downtown Oakland. The two were the principal organizers of “Redwood Summer” – a series of demonstrations against the logging industry in Mendocino and Humboldt counties. The Oakland Police Department initially charged Bari and Cherney with knowingly transporting the bomb, but the Alameda County District Attorney later dropped all charges. The person who placed the bomb in the car is still unknown.

Judi Bari died of cancer in 1997.

Ruling from the bench, Judge Claudia Wilken said that plaintiffs will not be able to use the FBI’s Counter-Intelligence Program (COINTELPRO) as evidence that a “pattern of practice” within the Bureau led to Bari and Cherney’s arrest. COINTELPRO was a secret FBI program to discredit social activists – including Martin Luther King Jr. and the Black Panther Party – in the 1960s and 1970s.

The plaintiffs had hoped to call upon Howard Zinn, a popular historian and author of “A People’s History of the United States,” to testify during the trial as an expert witness on FBI history and practices. Wilken ruled that Zinn’s expertise on the FBI was limited to “books anyone can read,” and disallowed his testimony.

Asked if the he could still conduct the case without referring to past FBI misdeeds, Dennis Cunningham, lead attorney for the activists, was confident.

“It’s going to be tougher,” said Cunningham, “but the main thing is what (the defendants) did. They used false evidence, they vilified our clients in the press.”

In another matter, Judge Wilken ruled for the plaintiffs by denying the scientific validity of a reconstruction of the bombing conducted by the U.S. Air Force. The Air Force report, which partially validated the Oakland police department’s initial arrest of the activists, was commissioned by the Justice Department, which is representing the FBI in the suit.

“To me, it’s a big thing that we knocked out the Air Force test,” said Cunningham.

There will be one more hearing, a pretrial conference on Sept. 1, before the trial begins. The plaintiffs are reportedly seeking $20 million in damages.

In the August 14 Planet, the leader of the group opposing the tritium lab challenged some of what she termed “so-called facts” in my letter of July 27th. At the risk of prolonging the debate past the patience of readers, I would like to respond.

I had quoted the investigator recently hired by the city of Berkeley to evaluate the lab as saying that the amount of tritium in trees and groundwater is small. My critic said “Franke’s draft study did not find that the tritium inventory in trees and ground water is small.” In fact, in his February 23, 2001 short version executive summary Mr. Franke said precisely that: “The overall tritium inventory in trees and also groundwater is small; it amounts to less than 1 curie.”

She alleges that the tritium lab operations have been “minimal” since December 1996 in an attempt to delude the EPA. In fact, except for about six months in 1996-7 while they developed a better method of handling waste, the tritium lab has continued to be a busy place. Tritium emissions have gradually decreased since 1990 as more advanced procedures have been developed; there is now better recovery of tritium from waste, and the lab scientists have devised methods using smaller quantities in the experiments.

She asked why independent soil and vegetation testing has not yet taken place. In fact, the lab does quality assessment of its own analyses by submitting split samples to outside labs. This has been done with tritium in air (two independent labs), surface water, soil, and water sediment.

Finally, concerning the safety of the air at the Lawrence Hall of Science: Mr. Franke, the most recent investigator of the lab, commented that if he were a Berkeley father, he would happily take his children there. As a Berkeley father of 4 and grandfather of 6, I concur, and we are frequent visitors.

The Berkeley Municipal Rose Garden was dedicated in September 1937 after four years of construction. The building of the garden was a Civil Works Administration project. It was among the many public parks projects sponsored by the federal government to provide employment during the Depression.

The garden was designed by Vernon M. Dean and construction was supervised by Charles W. Cresswell of the Berkeley Parks and Recreation Department.

The main section of the rose garden is designed like an amphitheater with wide stone terraces facing magnificent views of San Francisco Bay. A semicircular redwood pergola, which extends the full width of the amphitheater, provides not only visual definition to the site, but a structure for climbing roses and shaded benches. The planting of 2,500 rose bushes was planned by the East Bay Counties Rose Society under Charles V. Covell. The roses were arranged one color per terrace, from shades of red at the top through bronze and pink to yellow and white at the bottom.

The location of the Rose Garden is in a deep canyon named El Valle de Los Codornices (Valley of the Quails) by Don Jose Domingo Peralta in the 1840s. Early entrepreneurs of Codornices Canyon and its creeks were Henry Berryman and Felix Chappellet, who began selling water from the creeks in 1877.

As residential development moved farther north into the upper hills, the Cragmont Improvement Club extended streetcar service into the Cragmont subdivision by building a streetcar trestle across the canyon. The trestle was removed and a land bridge built in the 1920s.

On the east side of the land bridge, the neighborhood Codornices Club had built a park and club house in 1913. The west side of the land bridge however, remained unimproved until the Rose Garden was built.

SAN FRANCISCO — BART directors have presented a proposal to workers’ unions, offering a wage and benefits increase of about 20 percent over the next four years, but union members said Friday it’s not enough to keep them off the picket lines.

“This offer will not settle a contract,” said Robert Smith, president/business agent for the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1555, one of three unions in negotiations with BART as the Tuesday strike deadline nears.

Tim Reagan, spokesman for Service Employees International Union Local 790, said the union presented a counteroffer to BART on Friday.

BART officials say they hope their offer will avert a strike so that “people don’t have to face the anxiety about coming back from (Labor Day weekend) not knowing” if BART is operational, said BART Director Dan Richard.

BART President Willie Kennedy said she is prepared to further negotiate with the unions.

The four-year-contract offer provides workers with a 4.5 percent wage increase each year for the first three years. In the fourth year, BART would offer a 3 percent increase in the beginning of the year and a 2 percent increase by midyear.

Smith said a number of issues were still left to be settled, including work rules and the pension fund.

BART spokesman Mike Healey said management is prepared to negotiate through the weekend, and that if the unions give the go-ahead, Tuesday’s deadline can be extended.

But as talks continue, BART commuters are looking at alternatives.

“This will really affect my commute — I’m thinking about sharing a ride with a friend,” said Krys Upstil, who rides BART between the East Bay and San Francisco. “I’ll be looking at AC Transit, but that will probably be really crowded.”

Matthew Mitchelson, who commutes from Concord to Oakland, where he attends Laney College, said he will likely take his car.

“I’d have to leave my house at 5 a.m.,” Mitchelson said. “It usually takes 45 minutes driving when BART is running, but will probably take two hours with BART shut down.”

SAN JOSE — For the 12-month period that ended July 31, the number of bankruptcy filings in the Northern District of California declined 12.7 percent when compared to the same period the previous year, according to the American Bankruptcy Institute.

But bankruptcy filings nationwide — by both businesses and individuals — were up 8.6 percent in the 12-month period that ended June 30. If bankruptcies continue to increase at this pace, the year ahead will surpass the record-breaking year of 1998, when 1,429,451 new cases were logged.

Experts, who specialize in bankruptcy or commercial insolvency cases, believe the number of regional filings are down for a variety of reasons. Among them, Bay Area homeowners can sell their homes to pay off debt. Non-homeowners facing bankruptcy, may move elsewhere for a job, and if they do eventually declare bankruptcy, they may file in their new location.

Many dot-coms and other tech companies that failed had few if any assets, thus had no reason to file for bankruptcy.

The Northern California District includes courts in San Jose, San Francisco, Oakland and Santa Rosa and has jurisdiction from the Oregon border to Monterey County.

Dog attack suspect pleads not guilty

OAKLAND — An alleged drug dealer arrested while out on bail for charges stemming from the dog attack of a Richmond boy in June, pleaded innocent Friday to federal drug trafficking charges.

Benjamin Moore is in custody at the North County Jail in Oakland. His girlfriend, Jacinda Knight, and Albert Malborough also pleaded innocent before U.S. Magistrate Judge Wayne D. Brazil.

Moore, Knight, and Malborough, were indicted Thursday by a federal grand jury on charges of conspiracy to distribute base cocaine and possession of the drug for distribution among other drug-related charges.

The defendants were arrested Aug. 15. Moore also faces two misdemeanor offense charges in Contra Costa County Superior Court for allegedly concealing evidence in connection with the mauling of 11-year-old Shawn Jones, who was attacked by Moore’s three pit bulls.

Malborough has been placed in a halfway house, and Knight is not in custody.

* * *

MARTINEZ — A Lafayette couple who say they paid too much for a $4.25 million property once owned by Oakland A’s owner Ken Hoffman have asked that their property taxes be reduced.

Linda and Ken Mandel asked a county appeals board Thursday to reduce $1.1 million of the assessed value of their property. That would save them $11,000 a year in property taxes.

The three-member Contra Costa County Assessment Appeals Board gave them a $250,000 reduction, exactly what they paid over the asking price when they bought the house in May 2000.

Linda Mandel told the appeals board the couple realized soon after they moved in that they paid too much for their property, which includes a two-bedroom house, two guest houses, a pool and a tennis court.

“Whether or not we paid the right price or not, it didn’t matter,” she said. “We thought the market was going to keep going up.”

Mandel said they did not have the property appraised, on the suggestion of their real estate agent.

* * *

FAIRFIELD — Fairfield-Suisun School District students who spent the final two weeks of last school year dealing with confusion and substitute teachers face the possibility of another teacher walkout Tuesday, when school begins again.

Teachers and Fairfield-Suisun School District leaders have not been able to resolve their differences over the summer.

The school district is offering teachers a 10 percent pay raise for the last school year and a 5.4 percent raise this school year. Teachers want 10 percent for last year and 7.5 percent this year.

In an effort to understand and overcome institutional racism in Berkeley, the League of Women Voters plans to host a series of “conversations on race” beginning in early October.

Whether it’s in the area of education, health care, housing, employment or city government, the opinions and needs of people of color are not given the attention they deserve in Berkeley, said Marissa Saunders, chair of the League of Women Voters’ Education Committee and the person who came up with the idea for the meetings.

“I’ve been talking to people and going to all these meetings and realizing that the underlying problem was racism,” said Saunders, who is African-American. “Flat-out racism was happening, but no one would say it was that.

“I’m seeing how divided this city is becoming,” Saunders continued. “It’s the blacks, the browns and the whites, and the whites have all the power.”

A number of community leaders welcomed the idea of the meetings as a way to identify what racism looks like in Berkeley today – and come up with strategies for confronting the issues.

“I think it is always timely to have a conversation on race,” said Berkeley City Councilmember Miriam Hawley, a longtime member of the League of Women Voters.

“Really it is an opportunity to have people tell us when racism is happening and how we can do better,” Hawley added. “We need to move ahead with our efforts to be a more inclusive city.”

“It’s a very positive move forward to focus on the areas of inclusion where we’ve failed in the past,” said Mark Coplan, former president of the Berkeley PTA Council.

“We’re Berkeley. We’re progressive. We totally believe that. But are we inclusive?”

In discussions about school issues, too often complaints from parents and students of color are pushed aside with remarks like “you’re overreacting,” or “why are you making a big deal out of nothing?” Coplan said.

White parents and school leaders need to understand why certain actions are viewed as racist said Coplan and others.

“There is a point of view out there that is trying to claim that there is no such thing as racism any more,” said Barry Fike, president of the Berkeley Federation of Teachers. “I’m of a very different opinion. We need to continue examining and addressing (these issues).”

Fike said it is particularly important to raise awareness of these issues in school districts like those in Berkeley, Oakland and San Francisco, where the majority of teachers are white and the majority of students are students of color.

Race is a particularly sensitive issue in Berkeley schools, because of the profound gap in the academic achievement of white students and students of color that begins in the early grades and widens as the students move on to high school.

In 2000, Berkeley High’s African-American students’ standardized test scores earned them a score of 516 on the state’s academic performance index, well below the state median score of 675. Taken together, Berkeley High’s white population scored 894, in a year when only 5 percent of high schools in the state scored above 800.

And yet, after years of recognizing and quantifying the problem, the school district has yet to make notable headway in addressing it, Saunders said.

School district officials say they are just as concerned about the lack of progress as parents, but they say much is being done to address the problem. An early literacy program initiated in the last four years is helping to close the gap in student literacy skills by the time they reach third grade – so all students will be equally prepared to succeed in the higher grades.

The high school has launched a number of initiatives in the last few years, including tutoring, mentoring and – new this year – intensive literacy instruction, to help students who begin ninth grade with crippling academic deficits.

Still, said Board of Education President Terry Doran, there is a strong perception in the Berkeley Unified School District, and in urban school district’s around the country, the low test scores by students of color are a symptom of unequal opportunity – schools failing to meet these students’ needs.

In the African-American community especially, there is indignation that school officials did not do more to see their input when creating programs to address the achievement gap. Had they done so, the programs would have been more successful, said Saunders and other African-American parents.

“Nothing has worked,” Saunders said. “This community has to start from the bottom, all over again.”

Doran said he hoped a series of discussions on race like the one proposed by the League of Women Voters would “break down barriers to talking about race in constructive ways.”

Those planning the meeting say they will accomplish this by creating a “safe environment” for people to talk about race without pointing fingers at one another. The first meeting in October – at a date yet to be determined – will begin with poetry and skits aimed at illustrating instances of racism in Berkeley. There are plans to use humor to diffuse what might otherwise become a tense situation.

A comedian might talk about how certain words and phrases, used in the right context, are interpreted in different ways by whites, blacks, Latinos, etc. The hope is that such activities will create a comfortable environment, preparing people to separate into small groups to talk about race.

“It could make it comfortable for people to say things that in other circumstances they might get attacked for saying,” Doran said.

Saunders said she learned important lessons about how to have a discussion about race during an earlier attempt, organized at Washington Elementary School a few years ago. On that day, participants in the meeting divided up into groups based on race and them came back to share their findings with one another. Instead facilitating interacial communication, the meeting only helped the racial groups become more firmly entrenched in their differences, Saunders said.

At the first League of Women Voters meeting in October, participants will be divided into groups at random Saunders said, so people from different racial and economic backgrounds can work to sort out common miscommunications.

Furthermore, there will be the knowledge that this in the first of many meetings, so people will have a real incentive to learn to work together, Saunders said.

The first meeting will be used to develop strategies for community actions that reduce both the perception and the reality of racism, Saunders said. Later meetings will be used to follow up on the plans and see that they are implemented.

Saunders is looking for volunteers to help with the planning of the meeting and serve as facilitators of the group discussions. She also needs donations of food – and a meeting space. She can be contacted at 898-7625.

SACRAMENTO (AP) — Sunday is the deadline for community college students to apply for one of 11,250 state scholarships.

The Cal Grants provide up to $1,551 that students can use for books and living expenses during the new school year. Current community college students must have at least a 2.0 grade-point average to be eligible.

To apply, students must fill out a federal college aid form, known as the Free Application for Federal Aid or FAFSA. Forms are available on the Internet, in college and high school financial aid offices and in libraries.

Students must also get their community college or high school, if they are incoming freshmen, to send their grade-point average to the California Student Aid Commission.

The Cal Grants for community college students are part of the state’s expanded college financial aid program. It guarantees full tuition for high school seniors who meet grade and family income requirements.

The program also includes 22,500 grants for community college students. Half of them have already been awarded and the other half will be given to students meeting the Sept. 2 deadline.

SACRAMENTO — Democrats trying to recapture control of the House of Representatives may not get much help from a redistricting plan unveiled Friday by California legislators.

The plan appears to give Democrats only the one additional seat awarded the state because of population growth revealed by last year’s federal census.

The plan reconfigures the district currently held by Rep. Gary Condit, the Ceres Democrat plagued by scandal following the disappearance of Washington, D.C., intern Chandra Levy.

Condit’s district picks up a large number of new Democratic voters, but many of them have never voted for the 12-year House veteran. Analysts said many would be unlikely to vote for someone they know mostly through controversy.

Democrats hold 32 of California’s current 52 seats, but national Democratic leaders were hoping that redistricting would produce two or three more California seats that Democratic candidates could win.

The party needs to pick up at least six seats nationally to end eight years of Republican majorities in the House.

Democrats control redistricting in the nation’s most populous state because of their majorities in the Legislature and the presence of Democrat Gray Davis in the governor’s office.

But California Democrats point to their gain of five seats in the state in the 2000 elections and warn that trying to create several more Democratic congressional seats here could backfire by spreading loyal party voters too thinly.

“For all kinds of reasons, I think this was about what the traffic would bear,” said Rep. Howard Berman, D-North Hollywood.

But he said the plan would still give Democrats a “higher percentage of the California delegation than we’ve ever had before.” And it’s still possible that Democrats could win more than 33 seats, he said.

“You never know in politics,” he said. “We now hold seats we never thought we would hold five or 10 years go.”

Republicans like the plan, even though it would significantly alter some of their districts and cut up the Long Beach area seat now held by Republican Steve Horn.

“We are happy that the good faith effort that Republicans and Democrats had with one another seems to have been fruitful,” said Brad Smith, a spokesman for Rep. David Dreier of San Dimas, the chairman of the state’s Republican delegation to the House.

Horn’s seat would be replaced by a strongly Republican district in the southern San Joaquin Valley.

Democrats would presumably pick up the new 53rd District, which would be based in the Lakewood-Lynwood-Southgate area of Los Angeles County and would be heavily Democratic and Hispanic.

Mark Nevins, a spokesman for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, said the plan could help Democrats nationally by shoring up several incumbents who now represent marginal districts, including including Rep. Lois Capps, D-Santa Barbara.

Her narrow new district would hug the central coast from the Monterey County line to Oxnard in Ventura County, turning it from a district with slightly more Republicans than Democrats into one in which Democrats would outnumber Republicans by more than 41,000.

Similarly, Democratic Rep. Ellen Tauscher, who now represents a San Francisco Bay area district that has slightly more Democrats than Republicans, would get 30,000 more Democrats under the plan.

But she has criticized the changes, claiming they would take away familiar territory and voters in retaliation for not supporting a Californian, Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-San Francisco, for minority whip.

Tony Quinn, a political analyst and former Republican consultant on redistricting, said Democrats could have created several more Democratic-leaning districts “but they would have had to sacrifice some of their sweetheart seats.”

He said the plan was good for Republicans because it took away the Horn seat, which they might have lost in next year’s elections, and gave them a strongly Republican seat to replace it.

Many of the new districts take quirky twists and turns, including the new district that includes Condit’s hometown. It features a chicken-neck-like extension that would stretch it up into heavily Democratic precincts in Stockton.

Condit was considered a shoo-in for re-election until the Levy disappearance.

While the partisan breakdown seems aimed at preserving the delegation’s current balance, some Republican incumbents face new districts that put them in new territory. Rep. Doug Ose, R-Sacramento, would get a district that stretches from Sacramento to the Nevada line, while his current district stretches north.

The plan was drafted for the Democratic members of the congressional delegation and will be introduced in the state Senate. Assembly Democratic leaders have said they may also introduce a congressional redistricting plan.

State legislators are required to approve new congressional and legislative districts to reflect population shifts revealed by last year’s federal census.

SACRAMENTO — Since its inception four years ago, California’s payday loan industry has tripled each year and now makes 1 million transactions a month from 3,400 storefronts.

But consumer activists say the industry, with its high-fee, high-interest loans, unfairly taps poor people who can’t afford to go elsewhere.

That’s why, said first-year Assemblyman Dario Frommer, D-Los Angeles, he wrote a bill to reform the industry.

“I think we need to engage in regulation of this industry,” Frommer said. “While it provides a valued service for many people, there have been abuses and we want to make sure people aren’t being taken advantage of.”

But Frommer’s bill was largely written by an industry lobbyist. An Assembly legislative analyst, one of a group known for their often-bland descriptions of proposed legislation, called Frommer’s bill “specious” and with consumer protections that should “be ensconced in the Code of Illusory Benefits.”

Also, payday lenders have given generously to Frommer, contributing to his campaign and key Assembly Democratic leaders who in turn funneled more money to Frommer.

With Frommer’s bill on the table, the Assembly derailed another one by state Sen. Don Perata, D-Oakland, that had already passed the Senate and had the support of consumer groups.

Now both bills are in “study” in the Assembly, and California’s chance to join other states in reforming the industry has faded away for another year.

“The result is California consumers are stuck holding the bag for another year,” said Shelly Curran of Consumers Union.

With a payday loan, a customer writes a check for $300, gets $255 in cash and the lender agrees not to deposit the check until the customer’s next payday.

Industry officials said they provide a necessary financial service to poor urban and rural areas abandoned by traditional banks.

Consumer advocates, however, call it predatory. Trudy Robideau, a former customer turned consumer advocate, said customers often don’t have the cash to pay off the loan come payday and end up renewing it — adding up to annual interest rates of 400 percent or more.

Perata’s bill, which Curran and Robideau supported, would allow customers to pay off their loans in installments over three months. That would keep borrowers from having to roll over their loans.

Last year, a Perata bill passed the Senate but died in the Assembly. He weakened some parts of his plan this year, where it again passed the Senate. This year, he and consumer activists thought, they had a chance.

But as the industry has grown, so has its political influence.

And although some payday lenders like Frommer’s bill — primarily Carson, Calif.-based Nix Check Cashing — most companies like neither, said John Rabenold of Check ’n Go of California. “These bills are telling consumers they don’t know enough for themselves, and the government is going to make these decisions for them.”

Rabenold and Tom Nix, owner of Nix Check Cashing,, cite a Georgetown University study, sponsored by a national check-cashers association, that found a majority of customers were happy with the service.

But a 1998 report by the Consumer Federation of America said borrowers often “become mired in debt and renew cash advance loans every week or two. Payday loans are structured to make it difficult for consumers to pay in full at the end of the loan period.”

That, Perata said, is one of the reasons he pushed his bill.

Study, Perata said, is “tantamount to killing” his bill. He said he’s stunned that Democrats representing districts with high unemployment rates and low incomes were responsible.

“I just don’t get it,” he said. “Normally, you come up here to protect the interests of those who sent you here and you advocate for them. This turns that on its head. It’s a testament to how much money they’re making.”

That money has spread to some of the state’s leading politicians. Since the beginning of 2000, the industry gave $165,800 to political funds led by Frommer; Assemblyman Dennis Cardoza, D-Atwater; Assembly Speaker Robert Hertzberg, D-Van Nuys: and Assemblyman Herb Wesson, D-Culver City.

Two of the largest recipients of industry money are Cardoza and Wesson, who is considered the odds-on favorite to be the next speaker.

An additional $92,000 was contributed to PACs directed by Cardoza, Hertzberg and Wesson. Those funds gave more than $17,000 to Frommer’s campaign last year.

When the Assembly Business and Professions Committee voted to send Frommer’s bill to an interim study, Wesson and Cardoza were among the votes, though Cardoza doesn’t sit on that committee. Wesson also voted two months later to defer action on the Perata bill.

Study hearings will forge a compromise between the two bills, Frommer said. Committee chairman Lou Correa, D-Anaheim, said the bills will be heard in January.

Perata said his bill has already had eight hearings.

But Frommer said the extra time gives lawmakers a chance to figure out the industry’s proper “niche” in California.

“We’re trying to help people who have chronically abused this to get out of debt,” said Frommer, who also defended the industry he’s trying to reform. “When the money’s tight, it’s cheaper to get a payday loan than to bounce a check.”

Robideau disagreed, saying the industry “preys on desperation.”

Nix and Rabenold said most of their customers have full-time jobs and checking accounts and only use the service occasionally for unforeseen emergencies. Plus, further regulation will just lead lenders to partner with nationally chartered banks able to charge unlimited interest rates.

Whatever the Legislature finally does, Robideau said, she’ll keep pushing for the state to rein in the industry.

“You can’t get them out of California,” she said. “They’re here, you can’t eradicate them. But you can eradicate the greediest behavior.”

———

On the Net:

Read the bills, SB898 by Perata and AB1581 by Frommer, at http://www.leginfo.ca.gov

SAN JOSE — In another blow to financially troubled Excite@ Home, two major cable companies said Friday they will terminate their partnerships with the high-speed Internet provider.

Meanwhile, negotiations continued between Excite@Home and an investment firm that arranged emergency funding for the company last spring and had demanded a $50 million payment by Friday, according to a source close to the talks.

Comcast Corp. and Cox Communications Inc. said they will exercise the right to exit from their agreements effective June 4, 2002.

The end of the deals does not mean the companies’ cable modem customers will lose access. Rather, Comcast and Cox are likely to take over some operations themselves and find new partners for others.

“We want this to be a Cox-managed network,” said Cox spokeswoman Laura Oberhelman. “We will have a greater amount of control over our network and assuming a lot of the responsibilities that sit with Excite@Home.”

Steve Burke, president of Comcast Cable, said exercising the exit provision was in the best interest of customers and shareholders in light of reports of Excite@ Home’s financial condition.

Both Comcast and Cox also are in discussions with Excite@ Home about forming new, more limited agreements.

“That being said, we will have 950,000 customers by year end and we need to ensure that they continue to be well served,” Burke said.

But it remains to be seen whether Redwood City-based Excite@Home will survive into next year. The once high-flying company said in August that its independent auditors expressed doubt about its viability.

The latest crisis was the result of $100 million in convertible notes sold by Excite@Home in June to stave off another cash crunch. Promethean Investment Group LLC, which bought half the notes, later said Excite@ Home misrepresented its financial condition and how long the money would last. On Monday, Promethean demanded a $50 million payment by Friday.

“We don’t think there’s merit in this call for the loan,” said Stephanie Xavier, an Excite@ Home spokeswoman. “We’re not paying the money today, and we’re in active discussions with them about the call.”

Still, the $50 million is just a fraction of the $1 billion debt load carried by the company.

AT&T Corp., which is both a cable partner and controlling shareholder, has not made its intentions known. AT&T did not immediately return a call seeking comment. Some analysts believe AT&T or another investor may make a last-minute bailout.

Excite@Home announced Friday that it will hire an investment banking firm as a financial and restructuring adviser. The firm will assist the company in “exploring its options related to its financial position,” according to a statement.

AT&T, Comcast and Cox are the three largest of the 21 cable systems that use the service. Excite@Home currently has 3.7 million subscribers nationwide, Xavier said.

The company, which also operates the Excite Web portal, has been hard hit by the downturn in Internet advertising and questionable management decisions.

Excite@Home provides e-mail, some content and the network backbone for cable modem users.

In addition to the $100 million in notes, ExciteAtHome raised another $85 million in June by restructuring the lease of its fiber-optic network from AT&T Corp. Even so, the company said in July that it needed more cash to stay in business in 2002.

The company’s stock was down 19 percent, or 10 cents, to close at 42 cents a share Friday on the Nasdaq Stock Market.

The Cal Bears head into the 2001 season with nearly the same cast of characters that fashioned last year’s 3-8 disappointment. Star players Andre Carter, Nick Harris and Jacob Waasdorp are gone, as is offensive coordinator Steve Hagen. But head coach Tom Holmoe is back, as are 17 starters from last year’s squad.

“In the past, we had young guys coming in who played right away, and not neccesarily because we thought they were ready. They had to play because there wasn’t anyone else,” Holmoe said. “That’s not the case this year. Those freshmen and sophomores are juniors and seniors now, with playing experience. That alone should make us a better team.”

New offensive coordinator Al Borges comes with six years of Pac-10 experience. Whether or not the Bears can master his complex offense quickly will be the key to this make-or-break season for Holmoe.

“We’ve taken a look at just about everything we’re going to do by now, but we’re going to scale it back quite a bit for games,” Holmoe said. “But Al will give us a chance to win every game. It will come down to who executes better on game day.”

QB: Junior Kyle Boller came to Cal as one of the top quarterback prospects in the country. Signing him was a coup for Holmoe, that one special player who was supposed to be the difference-maker. He jumped into the starting lineup as a true freshman in the Pac-10 opener, and led the Bears to a 24-23 win over Arizona State. He struggled for the rest of that season, but showed marked improvement last season, upping his completion percentage from 38.6 to 46.7 and cutting his interception ratio from one in every 17 pass attempts to one in every 26. This season will be his first under a real quarterback coach in Borges. Former coordinator Steve Hagen was more of a receivers coach, so a quantum leap in Boller’s game could be in the offing.

Junior college transfer Eric Holtfreter will be the backup. If Boller goes down, Holmoe and Borges are comfortable with Holtfreter running the offense. Redshirt freshman Reggie Robertson, third on the depth chart, offers a more athletic option but isn’t ready to play.

Grade: B

RB: What was supposed to be a position with tremendous depth and experience suddenly dried up when tailback Joe Echema was ruled ineligible by the NCAA two weeks ago. The junior was to be the No. 2 guy behind classmate Joe Igber, but the NCAA’s ruling leaves Igber as the only tailback with any college carries.

Before Echema’s benching, Borges had already made it clear he wants Igber to get the lion’s share of carries, as opposed to last year’s rotation of Igber, Echema and Saleem Muhammed (who transferred to Portland State this summer), so the game plan doesn’t change much. Redshirt freshman Michael Sparks, who is nursing a shoulder injury, and true freshman Terrell Williams are only other tailbacks available.

“You don’t really want a true freshman at number two, but that’s how it shook out,” Holmoe said.

If Igber gets hurt, it would likely force senior fullback Marcus Fields, a former tailback, to switch positions. Fields has gained 30 pounds since his days as a tailback, so it would be a tough transition. Out of the fullback spot, Fields is a multi-dimensional threat, as he can carry the ball, catch the ball out of the backfield and even split wide on occasion. Backup Ryan Stanger is more of a traditional blocking back.

Grade: B+

WR: The lack of a game-breaking wideout is the one key missing ingredient in the offense, and a luxury Borges has had for the past few years at UCLA. He’ll have to adjust his offense to account for the lack of a defense-stretching threat unless sophomore Geoff McArthur or senior Derek Swafford can show more than they have in the past. Swafford was expected to be a starter for the opener, but missed most of fall camp with nagging injuries. He will be replaced, at least against Illinois, by Charon Arnold, who had six catches for 68 yards and two touchdowns in Champaign last year before going down for the last seven games with a stress fracture.

“Charon gives us an added dose we didn’t have for most of last year,” Holmoe said.

Former walk-on Sean Currin has been earning heaps of praise from the coaching staff, but is too slow to have much of an impact, while Chad Heydorff will miss at least the opener with a hamstring injury, and sophomore Chase Lyman could be out for the year after an appendectomy. True freshman Christian Prelle will get some playing time, and walk-on freshman Burl Toller will get time on special teams.

Grade: C-

TE: This spot has been a black hole for the Bears during Holmoe’s tenure, and there doesn’t appear to be any change this year. Junior Tom Swoboda has been named the starter, with gigantic Terrence Dotsy his backup. Neither player has caught a pass for Cal, but Dotsy could be an effective blocker with his 6-foot-4, 285-pound frame. Swoboda showed good hands in spring practice, and Borges is known for using his tight ends in the passing game, but until something actually happens in a game, there’s no reason to believe there will be anything for opponents to worry about. True freshman Jordan Hunter was highly regarded out of Albany, Ore., and could be the starter as soon as next season.

Grade: D

OL: The offensive line will be one of the conference’s best this season, provided the starters can avoid injuries. Three starters were nicked up in Turlock, with tackles Langston Walker and Mark Wilson and guard Scott Tercero all sitting out some portion of camp. But the line should be complete against Illinois, so there should be ample time for Boller and holes for Igber.

Walker and Wilson are both NFL prospects, and should provide excellent bookends. Walker is massive at 6-foot-8, 345 pounds, one of the nation’s biggest linemen. The senior broke his left ankle in the fourth game last season, ending his year prematurely. The bright side was that it put Wilson into a trial by fire at left tackle as a redshirt freshman, earning him All-Freshman honors. He will move back to the right side this year and should be a steady influence. With four-year starter Walker on the other side, the Bears won’t have to worry much about edge defenders.

Brandon Ludwig spent last season as one of the Pac-10’s top guards, but the coaches decided to move him to center for his senior year. Ludwig resisted the move initially, but has grown into the position and has meshed well with Boller. His size (6-foot-4, 285 pounds) and agility should make him an excellent center. Nolan Bluntzer was in the running for the position before Ludwig’s move, but will instead move over to Ludwig’s right guard spot. Bluntzer was adequate as a center last year, but may be a bit undersized for guard. Scott Tercero, on the other hand, enters his third year as the starting left guard, although he was banged up last year and never really got on track. If he’s healthy, Tercero should be a force in the running game.

Grade: A

DL: The defensive line is bound to go through an adjustment period after losing All-World end Andre Carter and scrappy tackle Jacob Waasdorp. But with nine linemen ready to play, the Bears have better depth to combat opponents.

The starters against the Illini will be Tully Banta-Cain at rush end, where he came on strong at the end of last season. But without Carter drawing constant double-teams, Banta-Cain will not have the luxury of having just one blocker to beat on every play, so he could struggle. Junior college transfer Josh Gustaveson will be at Carter’s old spot, with fellow juco transfer Tom Canada and redshirt freshman Tosh Lupoi backing up both ends.

Daniel Nwangwu was supposed to join Carter and Waasdorp in dominating defensive lines last year following an impressive freshman season. But instead he gained 30 pounds and was rarely heard from. Nwangwu is back to his old playing weight of 290 pounds, and will have to be more of a factor this year, as he has some young guys just waiting for an opportunity. Sophomore Josh Beckham showed excellent run-stopping ability last year and has claimed the other starting spot on the inside. Redshirt freshman J.D. Cafaro is ready to play, and Lupoi can move inside if needed. But the real story might be true freshman Lorenzo Alexander from St. Mary’s High in Berkeley. The Bears’ top recruit, Alexander has impressed his coaches with his quickness and technical ability and could force his way into the starting lineup. Defensive line coach Bill Dutton has compared Alexander favorably to a young Andre Carter, who ended up a four-year starter for the Bears.

Grade: B-

LB: This group will be led by senior Scott Fujita, a major success story for Holmoe’s walk-on program. Fujita has gone from a skinny scout-team safety to one of the top outside linebackers in the nation, a potential first-round NFL draft pick. He will, however, have to get used to shedding more blockers this year, as he won’t be lining up behind Andre Carter for the first time in his career. But Fujita should be the playmaker for the Cal defense.

The two inside spots in defensive coordinator Lyle Setencich’s defense are mostly run-pluggers, and the two best appear to be juniors John Klotsche and Matt Nixon. Klotsche took over a starting spot midway through last season and led the Bears with three fumble recoveries, including a touchdown return against Washington. Nixon is undersized (220 pounds), but showed a knack for stuffing the run with 15 tackles for loss last year. They will be pushed by senior Chris Ball, a good blitzer, and athletic redshirt freshman Wendell Hunter.

Grade: B-

DB: The cornerback spots are the most hotly contested for the Bears, as four candidates vie for the two starting assignments. Juniors Jemeel Powell and Leshaun Ward were both spectacular at times last season, but both struggled through spring and fall practice with injuries. That gave sophomores James Bethea and Atari Callen the opening they needed, and the younger players are now at the top of the depth chart. Bethea showed promise as a nickel back last year, and is a steady performer. Callen is back after a redshirt year to get his academics in order. The De La Salle graduate was a highly-regarded prospect two years ago and has the speed to run with receivers.

But Powell, if healthy, has the potential to be one of the top corners in the nation, with the size, speed and leaping ability NFL teams look for. He outleaped UCLA’s 6-foot-5 wideout Brian Poli-Dixon for an end-zone interception to clinch Cal’s overtime victory over the Bruins last year. But after a groin pull and two off-season surgeries, it could well take him some time to get back in the swing of things. Likewise, Ward is a superior physical specimen with play-making ability, but a scar y internal injury took him out for the end of last season, and a hamstring injury has slowed him this fall. If these two are healthy, the Bears will boast talent and depth at cornerback that few teams can match, as well as formidable nickel and dime packages.

“The secondary is still up in the air. (Defensive backs coach Randy Stewart) really hasn’t decided on the starters yet,” Holmoe said. “But you’ll see all four guys early, and they all will play.”

The safety spots are easier to figure out. Free safety Nnamdi Asomugha made huge strides last year, including a Pac-10 Defensive Player of the Week effort against UCLA, and has a stranglehold on his position. The junior from Los Angeles is effective in both pass coverage and supporting the run. Dewey Hale and Bert Watts share the strong safety duties, just as they did last season.

Grade: B+

Special Teams: Many fans bemoan the loss of All-America punter Nick Harris, the NCAA record-holder for career punts and punt yardage, but if the punter is as important this year as last year, the Bears are already sunk. More important is the punt protection, which cost the Bears possible victories against Washington State and Stanford when Harris had punts blocked. The hiring of a special teams coach, LeCharls McDaniel, should help the protection scheme greatly. Sophomore Tyler Fredrickson doesn’t have Harris’ booming leg, but should be adequate.

Mark Jensen is an accurate kicker from inside 35 yards, but the junior has never hit a field goal longer than 40 yards at Cal. Fredrickson could be called upon for longer kicks.

Powell can be spectacular punt returner, but again, his health is a question. Holmoe has decided to use him on special teams to start the season, but he could be pulled if he gets nicked up. Callen, Bethea, Arnold and cornerback Ray Carmel will split the kick-return duties.

It took traveling halfway around the world for Berkeley actor Svetlana Couture to go full cycle, and return to her youthful love of theater. Couture opens tonight in a short, three-performance run at Berkeley’s Live Oak Theater in Bay Area playwright Dorotea Reyna’s show “Goddesses.”

Inspired by the female archetype work of well-known Bay Area Jungian analyst Jean Shinoda Bolen, the play tells the story of one particular woman’s wants and needs, as her desires are expressed at different moments of her life through the particular goddess influencing her behavior. Couture plays the character of Aphrodite.

The 35-year-old Couture moved to Berkeley in 1989. She was born in a small town in the eastern part of Ukraine, where she attended Cherkassy State University, studying to be a teacher of English and German.

In local amateur theater productions in Ukraine, Couture played the lead in Alexander Pushkin’s “Eugene Onegin,” performed in other community shows, and was part of a college comedy group that wrote and staged political humor skits for invited audiences in private homes.

In 1988, during the Gorbachev era of glasnost and perestroika, Couture participated in a 30-day international peace walk in the Soviet Union attended by 250 visitors from the United States, Japan and Australia.

On this walk she met Berkeley radio programmer Ray Couture, who was reporting on the march via satellite phone for KPFA. They became friends, and when he invited her to Berkeley the next year, they fell in love and married.

After immigrating to Berkeley in 1989, Svetlana Couture considered pursuing an acting career, but was told by an entertainment agent that at 5 feet, 1 inch tall, she was not the right size. Instead, she earned a law degree at New College and began working for a local insurance defense firm.

But Couture became disillusioned with her lawyering work. “I woke up one morning and realized I was wasting my life,” she said. “I couldn’t see spending my life defending insurance companies. With this job, I had the feeling I might be doing more damage than help.”

About the same time, Couture played hooky from work one afternoon and saw the Kevin Spacey movie “American Beauty,” the story of a disillusioned corporate worker undergoing an identity crisis.

“I never reacted to a movie like that before,” said Couture. “It made me think about my life. I realized that I wanted the satisfaction of knowing I did something good for someone, even if it’s tiny, as opposed to these terrible massive things that lawyers do, especially in defense situations.”

“When you work for insurance defense,” continued Couture, “you develop this hard steel, cold being inside you. You don’t want to think what will happen to these people (on the other side) if I do this and that, because the clients want you to feel that way.”

“I became disillusioned about the ideas of justice and human rights, the things I cherished during law school,” she added. “Those things sort of disappeared one by one. By the end of the insurance defense job, I was empty.”

In the process of analyzing her life, Couture decided she needed to get back to what she really enjoyed, and that was performing.

She signed up for classes in acting, speech, voice and singing at A.C.T. in San Francisco. She got publicity photos made, and did some extra work on television’s “Nash Bridges” and the film “Bedazzled.”

Recently Couture was cast in an independent film called “Bar,” currently shooting at the Albatross Pub in Berkeley. In that film she plays a Russian bachelorette having a good time at the bar, who gets involved with a man interested in mail-order brides.

In addition, Couture and her husband have started a production company called Haute Couture. They are developing a cooking show pilot for television, and considering a television series of interviews with prominent people in the human potential movement.

“All of my youthful theater activities came to a screeching halt when I came to this country,” said Couture. “Somehow I thought I had to become practical and businesslike. Now that I am acting again I feel alive and happy. I get high with the energy acting produces. It is very exciting.”

Daily Planet theater reviewer John Angell Grant has written for “American Theater,” “Backstage West,” “Callboard” and others. Email him at jagplays@yahoo.com.

A push to debate India's caste system at the U.N. Summit on Racism set off a heated debate in India. Ironically, the same week that Indian pundits were protesting the inclusion of caste-based discrimination on the summit agenda, the dean of a university medical faculty in my home town of Nagpur was fired for submitting a fraudulent caste-certificate with his job application.

Upper-caste columnists of Indian newspapers used the incident to argue that economic intervention – not political action – will eliminate the mistreatment of low-caste minorities in India. Lower-caste activists used the news story to highlight that only a small fraction of India's castes are benefiting from quotas established under affirmative action programs for university admissions and government appointments.

“Scheduled” castes are a category that receives protections under India's constitution, formulated after the country's independence from British rule in 1947. Under the precepts of the Hindu religion, to which a majority of India's population adheres, there are four major groups, or castes, arranged by trade or profession: Brahmins or priests, Kshatriya or warriors, Vaisyas or farmers, and Kshudras or laborers. Each group is further divided into sub-castes. The untouchables – or Dalits – are the outcasts who perform the most degrading, menial tasks.

The issue of India's presence at the U.N. conference recently came up for discussion in India's parliament, where members of the Bahujan Samaj Party, representing the “scheduled” castes, made a strong case for including caste-based discrimination. The Brahmin majority, on the other hand, ruled against the proposition, arguing that race is a biological classification, not a social rank.

On close examination, the opponents' arguments hold little validity. If caste distinctions have been perpetuated through centuries, they should have the same biological basis as race. After all, race is no more biologically based than caste, in the sense that there is no Chinese or African gene. All races have the same blood composition and the exact same DNA. We all are descendants of one human somewhere in Africa or China, the scientific theory goes, so in that sense we are all related to one another. Race or caste distinctions have evolved only over time.

Opponents point out that race is based on physical attributes, whereas caste is not. But this argument, too, falls short when one realizes that there are many African-Americans who are whiter than whites, and Indian-Americans who are darker than Africans.

Another popular observation is that over the millennia, races have evolved according to geographic boundaries – Japanese, Chinese, African, Indian – while castes have not. All castes in India, for example, can be found throughout the country. But this argument also appears to be flawed, because with globalization people are rapidly moving across national boundaries and race is increasingly defined through self-determination.

It is on this last point that caste differences do in fact diverge from those based on race. While in recent decades people in general – and people of multiethnic backgrounds in particular – have been able to define their own race, historically, a Dalit or an untouchable could never escape into a higher caste of his or her own free will. This is because most people in India do not possess caste certificates, but are simply known as belonging to certain groups based on their last names and ancestry. No doubt, the very existence of a certificate led the authorities to suspect the Nagpur doctor.

If the Indian government has indeed triumphed over the problem of caste discrimination, it would gladly proclaim its success at the U.N. summit. The U.N. has little clout in ordering its member states to intervene in social problems such as racial discrimination, sex trade of minority women, or slave labor – topics listed on the summit agenda. But a discussion of such issues is nevertheless vital for raising global awareness and discussing remedies.

The Indian delegation should be allowed to address the issue of caste discrimination at the summit without fear, and to present the progress India has made so far, as well as address the problems that still remain. As India's Poet Laureate Ravindranath Tagore once said: “Where the mind

is without fear and the head is held high; where the world has not been broken up into fragments by narrow domestic walls; into that haven of freedom, my Father, let my country awake.”

PNS contributor Sarita Sarvate is a nuclear physicist and writer for India Currents and other publication.

Friday August 31, 2001

Friday, Aug. 31

Start a Writing Group – and Keep It Going

10 a.m. - noon

North Branch Berkeley Public Library

1170 The Alameda

Dr. Kathy Briccetti will host a workshop on How to Start and Maintain a Writing Group. This free workshop requires pre-registration by Aug. 29.

Saturday, Sept. 1

Free Sailboat Rides

1 - 4 p.m.

Cal Sailing Club

Berkeley Marina

The Cal Sailing Club, a nonprofit sailing and windsurfing cooperative, give free rides on a first come, first served bases on the first full weekend of each month. Wear warm clothes and bring a change of clothes in case you get wet. Children must be at least 5 years old and must be accompanies by an adult. www.cal-sailing.org

Sunday, Sept. 2

Free Sailboat Rides

1 - 4 p.m.

Cal Sailing Club

Berkeley Marina

The Cal Sailing Club, a nonprofit sailing and windsurfing cooperative, give free rides on a first come, first served bases on the first full weekend of each month. Wear warm clothes and bring a change of clothes in case you get wet. Children must be at least 5 years old and must be accompanies by an adult.

Monday, Sept. 3

Intensive Production Urban Gardening Training

10 a.m. - 4 p.m.

Santa Fe Bar & Grill

1310 University Ave.

Learn ways to intensively and organically grow produce for your own use or for an urban market garden. A hands-on training in the garden located behind the restaurant and potluck lunch at 1 p.m. Free community training, meets the first Monday each month. 841-1110

Potluck Picnic and Poetry

noon - 4 p.m.

Live Oak Park

Walnut and Rose streets

Bay Area Poets Coalition hosts a Labor Day potluck picnic followed by an open poetry reading. All are welcome to bring food and poetry to share. 527-9905 poetalk @aol.com

East Bay’s crisis of working poverty to be investigated at the hearing. Featuring a panel and audience of East Bay political, religious, labor and community leaders, including: Congresswoman Barbara Lee, Alameda County Supervisor Keith Carson and others. 893-7106

Tuesday, Sept. 4

Intelligent Conversation

7 - 9 p.m.

Berkeley Richmond Jewish Community Center

A discussion group open to all, regardless of age, religion, viewpoint, etc. This time the discussion will center on Friendships: deep, superficial, and what are its obligations. Informally led by Robert Berend, who founded similar groups in L.A., Menlo Park, and Prague. Bring light snacks/drinks to share. Free. 527-5332

A free environmental poetry festival with a day of poetry, music and environmental activism featuring Gary Snyder, Maxine Hong Kingston, Robert Haas, Francisco X. Alarcon, and Earll Kingston as John Wesley Powell. Strawberry Creek Walk at 10 a.m. Oxford and Center. 526-9105 www.poetryflash.org

Youth Arts Studio

2 - 5 p.m.

All Souls Episcopal Parish

2220 Cedar St.

Demonstration classes for after school program in visual arts, creative writing and dramatic arts for students ages 10 - 15. Free. 848-1755

Luna Kids Dance Open House

10 - 11 a.m.

Grace North Church

2138 Cedar

Free open house and Parent/ Child classes. Designed to give families a shared dance experience that connects body, mind, and soul. Children will have a chance to play fun dance games, refreshments and register for Fall Session. 525-4339 www.lunakidsdnace.com

Pack Right, Travel Smart

1 p.m.

Recreational Equipment

1338 San Pablo Ave.

Eagle Creek Rep will give you tips on how to best organize your gear and clothing for your next adventure. Free. 527-4140

Free Emergency Preparedness Class

10 a.m. - 5 p.m.

812 Page St.

Earthquake Retrofitting class. Free to anyone 18 or older, who lives or works in Berkeley. 644-8736 www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/fire.oes.html

A program that offers outdoor and leadership skills. First through Fifth Grade boys and parents. Free. 525-6058

Jewish Genealogy: Finding Your Jewish Family History

7:30 - 9 p.m.

Berkeley Richmond Jewish Community Center

1414 Walnut St.

Learn basic techniques and resources to trace your family history. 848-0237

Berkeley Folk Dancers

7:45 p.m. - 9:45 p.m.

Live Oak Park

1301 Shattuck

New Fall classes starts. Mondays through Oct. 29; $20

http://geocities.com/bdancers

Tuesday, Sept. 11

Ecology of Mediterranean Climate Streams

5:15 - 6:30 p.m.

U.C. Berkeley

212 O’Brien Hall

Part of the California Colloquium on Water lecture series. Vincent H. Rash, Professor of Entomology and Parasitology will give a lecture including questions and answers. 642-2666 lvida@library.berkeley.edu

Berkeley Camera Club

7:30 p.m.

Northbrae Community Church

941 The Alameda

Share your slides and learn what other photographers are doing. Monthly field trips. 525-3565

Berkeley Farmers’ Market

2-7 p.m.

Derby Street between Martin Luther King Jr. Way and Milvia Street.

548-3333

Free Early Music Group

10 - 11:30 a.m.

North Berkeley Senior Center

1901 Hearst Ave.

Small group sings madrigals and other voice harmony every Tuesday.

655-8863

Dateline: Israel 2001: A middle East Update

7:30 - 9 p.m.

Berkeley Richmond Jewish Community Center

1414 Walnut St.

Informative and timely presentation on the current situation in the Middle East with Professor Ze’ev Brinner. 848-0237

The city is constructing a bridge spanning Interstate 80 for bikers, pedestrians and persons using wheelchairs as an alternative to walking along the freeway’s University Avenue onramp. Construction began in

Sedge Thomson’s West Coast Live Radio Show Sept. 1: Rita Moreno, has won Oscar, Tony, Emmy and Grammy awards for her work on stage and screen. Mark Wing-Davey, director of “36 Views,” opening at the Berkeley Repertory Theater. Kent Nerburn, author of “Road Angels.” The Shotgun Players open a window into their show: “Winesburg Ohio: Tales of the Grotesque.” Julia Morgan Theatre, 2640 College Ave.; Sept. 29: Nancy Miford, author of “Savage Beauty.” West African folk music with The Nigerian Brothers. Blues roots piano by Caroline Dahl. The Freight and Salvage, 1111 Addison St. All shows 10 a.m. - noon. 252-9214 www.wcl.org

I appreciated your recent article about the scent issue and MCS (multiple chemical sensitivity), but want to make a few points.

First, the language asking people not to wear scents at public meetings is referred to as a "warning." The word warning implies punishment or danger. The language is polite, uses the word please, and really amounts only to a request.

Second, the city manager says that there was "extensive discussion" prior to the adoption of the present language, and therefore there is "no pressing need to re-open the discussion." For those of us who originally opened up the discussion because our health is compromised by the presence of these fragrances, there is a need to re-open it. The current language does not do what we need, which is to protect our health.

Third and most importantly, I was quoted as saying that "those who suffer from (MCS) have little doubt that it exists," with no further elaboration. It is unfortunate that my words were not quoted in full. As cited, they might be seen as lending credence to the anti-MCS view that the condition is "all in our heads," which is the last thing I would in any way want to support.

In fact, MCS is currently recognized as a legitimate disability under the Americans with Disabilities Act and by other entities including the U.S. Dept. of Justice, the U.S. President’s Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities, the U.S. National Council on Disability, the U.S. Dept. of Housing and Urban Development, and the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), among others.

And there are both many physical findings which corroborate the existence of a medical condition, and many research studies which substantiate its existence. For more in-depth information on this, check out the Chemical Injury Information Network at http://www.ciin.org/.

A movement born on the University of California campus last spring will spread across the nation this fall, if local Palestinian activists have their way. And Berkeley, as usual, will be ground zero.

Students for Justice in Palestine are planning a series of events designed to draw attention to the “al-Aqsa Intifada,” the Palestinian uprising that started almost a year ago, and to ask the UC regents to withdraw their investments from companies that do business with the state of Israel. A similar divestiture drive is aimed at the city of Berkeley.

SJP and allied groups will host a nationwide gathering of campus activists Oct. 12-14, they’re calling: “Holding the University Accountable: Divesting from Israeli Apartheid.” Organizers of the conference hope to spread the campaign which aims at getting the UC system and other universities to divest from Israel. People involved with the campaign, which began last year, liken it to the divestment drive against apartheid in South Africa that helped bring democracy to that country in 1991. Others disagree.

“I do believe that the equation of apartheid in South Africa and the state of affairs in Israel is specious,” said Adam Weisberg, executive director of Hillel Jewish Student Center, on Bancroft Way, near the UC Berkeley campus. He cited several differences between apartheid-era South Africa and the current political situation in Israel: Palestinians are allowed to participate in politics, even holding membership in the Israeli Parliament, and are not taxed differently from Jews, as South African blacks were.

Snehal Shingavi, an SJP member, defended the analogy. “What apartheid was, fundamentally, was a series of laws and geographic relationships, backed by military and police forces, designed to separate two populations. One population was allowed to live with the best kind of resources – the best schools, health care, meaningful jobs, etc. The other population was left to shantytowns and townships. That’s what makes the comparison appropriate,” he said.

The SJP conference will include workshops on “Media Acitivism,” “Learning from the South African Campaign” and “Zionism.”

“I believe incredible progress has been made, but the real boost will be the national connections forged at this conference. This campaign is becoming more than a campaign – it’s becoming a movement,” said Will Youmans, another SJP member.

Youmans is also involved in a coalition of groups, including the San Francisco chapter of the American Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee that is planning to ask the city of Berkeley to deny contracts to businesses that trade with Israel.

In a meeting held Aug. 19 at the Unitarian Church at Cedar Street and Bonita Avenue, citizens discussed the possibility of adding Israel to the city’s “Oppressive States” list, instituted in 1990. The list bars the city from doing business with companies that have economic relations with countries deemed to deny human rights and the fundamental freedoms of its citizens. Currently, the only region on the list is Tibet.

“We should have very strict ethical standards about who we do business with – as a country, as a city and as individuals,” Youmans said. “The purpose of the city’s ‘oppressive states’ ordinance is an attempt to meet those standards, and Israel, we believe, qualifies as an oppressive state.”

SJP and other campus organizations are planning to mark the first anniversary of the al-Aqsa Intifada Sept. 22-29, by holding “Intifada Week,” a seven-day commemoration of the uprising and protest against Israel.

Last March, SJP gained media attention after a series of demonstrations on the UC campus. Thirty-two protesters were arrested when they blocked access to Wheeler Hall, which they had declared “occupied territory” for the day. Earlier, the group had organized “checkpoints” at Sather Gate, where passers-by were divided into “Israelis” and “Palestinians.” “Israelis” were allowed to pass through the Gate unmolested, while “Palestinians” were asked for identification papers and had their backpacks searched.

“Intifada Week” will combine this type of street theater with speakers and teach-ins. Some of the events scheduled are a mock trial of Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, art installations and a conference on international law.

Critics of “Intifada Week” argue that the tone of the event will be an echo of the Intifada itself – an insurrection, they say, marked by its embrace of violence as a political solution.

“I think it’s misguided,” said Randy Barnes of the Israel Action Committee. “The most productive thing that we, as student leaders, can do, is to work together, through dialogue, toward peace.”

“I’m concerned from the outset, because the current Intifada has been incredibly violent,” said Hillel’s Weisberg. “I don’t think that it’s something we should be celebrating. ‘Intifada Week’ doesn’t seem like an exploration of issues – it’s more a call to arms.”

The Israel Action Committee will be out during “Intifada Week” and the rest of the semester, talking to people and handing out pamphlets, Barnes said, underscoring that there will be no counter-demonstrations.

“I'm confident that through interaction with people, we will be able to let them know the facts,” he said.

Scott Newman, a member of Hillel, attended an international assembly of Jewish student leaders last week, to learn effective ways to spread their points of view. This year, for the first time, the annual gathering included a day of workshops called “Defending Israel on Campus.”

Newman attended workshops called “The Birth of Palestinian Nationalism” and “Dealing with Muslim and Palestinian Groups on Campus.”

“I had felt a little undereducated about what I could do on campus,” he said. “I got some information there about what I could tell people about Israel.”

Newman says he, too, believes that dialogue is of primary importance, but that true communication between opposing groups is hard. In the past he has tried to organize meetings between Muslim and Jewish students to discuss the issue of Palestine, but was disappointed by the results.

“It was difficult because both sides are so far apart on the issues,” he said. “I didn’t get much out of it, and I don’t think they got much out of it.”

Students for Justice in Palestine can be reached at 551-7643 or

http:// justiceinpalestine.org.

Berkeley Hillel can be reached at 845-7793 or http://www.berkeleyhillel.org/

In an effort to understand and overcome institutional racism in Berkeley, the League of Women Voters plans to host a series of “conversations on race” beginning in early October.

Whether it’s in the area of education, health care, housing, employment or city government, the opinions and needs of people of color are not given the attention they deserve in Berkeley, said Marissa Saunders, chair of the League of Women Voters’ Education Committee and the person who came up with the idea for the meetings.

“I’ve been talking to people and going to all these meetings and realizing that the underlying problem was racism,” said Saunders, who is African-American. “Flat-out racism was happening, but no one would say it was that.

“I’m seeing how divided this city is becoming,” Saunders continued. “It’s the blacks, the browns and the whites, and the whites have all the power.”

A number of community leaders welcomed the idea of the meetings as a way to identify what racism looks like in Berkeley today – and come up with strategies for confronting the issues.

“I think it is always timely to have a conversation on race,” said Berkeley City Councilmember Miriam Hawley, a longtime member of the League of Women Voters.

“Really it is an opportunity to have people tell us when racism is happening and how we can do better,” Hawley added. “We need to move ahead with our efforts to be a more inclusive city.”

“It’s a very positive move forward to focus on the areas of inclusion where we’ve failed in the past,” said Mark Coplan, former president of the Berkeley PTA Council.

“We’re Berkeley. We’re progressive. We totally believe that. But are we inclusive?”

In discussions about school issues, too often complaints from parents and students of color are pushed aside with remarks like “you’re overreacting,” or “why are you making a big deal out of nothing?” Coplan said.

White parents and school leaders need to make more of an effort to understand why certain actions are viewed as racist, said Coplan and others.

“There is a point of view out there that is trying to claim that there is no such thing as racism any more,” said Barry Fike, president of the Berkeley Federation of Teachers. “I’m of a very different opinion. We need to continue examining and addressing (these issues).”

Fike said it is particularly important to raise awareness of these issues in school districts like those in Berkeley, Oakland and San Francisco, where the majority of teachers are white and the majority of students are students of color.

Race is a particularly sensitive issue in Berkeley schools, because of the profound gap in the academic achievement of white students and students of color that begins in the early grades and widens as the students move on to high school.

In 2000, Berkeley High’s African-American students’ standardized test scores earned them a score of 516 on the state’s academic performance index, well below the state median score of 675. Taken together, Berkeley High’s white population scored 894, in a year when only 5 percent of high schools in the state scored above 800.

And yet, after years of recognizing and quantifying the problem, the school district has yet to make notable headway in addressing it, Saunders said.

School district officials say they are just as concerned about the lack of progress as parents, but they say much is being done to address the problem. An early literacy program initiated in the last four years is helping to close the gap in student literacy skills by the time they reach third grade – so all students will be equally prepared to succeed in the higher grades.

The high school has launched a number of initiatives in the last few years, including tutoring, mentoring and – new this year – intensive literacy instruction, to help students who begin ninth grade with crippling academic deficits.

Still, said Board of Education President Terry Doran, there is a strong perception in the Berkeley Unified School District, and in urban school district’s around the country, the low test scores by students of color are a symptom of unequal opportunity – schools failing to meet these students’ needs.

In the African-American community especially, there is indignation that school officials did not do more to see their input when creating programs to address the achievement gap. Had they done so, the programs would have been more successful, said Saunders and other African-American parents.

“Nothing has worked,” Saunders said. “This community has to start from the bottom, all over again.”

Doran said he hoped a series of discussions on race like the one proposed by the League of Women Voters would “break down barriers to talking about race in constructive ways.”

Those planning the meeting say they will accomplish this by creating a “safe environment” for people to talk about race without pointing fingers at one another. The first meeting in October – at a date yet to be determined – will begin with poetry and skits aimed at illustrating instances of racism in Berkeley. There are plans to use humor to diffuse what might otherwise become a tense situation.

A comedian might talk about how certain words and phrases, used in the right context, are interpreted in different ways by whites, blacks, Latinos, etc. The hope is that such activities will create a comfortable environment, preparing people to separate into small groups to talk about race.

“It could make it comfortable for people to say things that in other circumstances they might get attacked for saying,” Doran said.

Saunders said she learned important lessons about how to have a discussion about race during an earlier attempt, organized at Washington Elementary School a few years ago. On that day, participants in the meeting divided up into groups based on race and them came back to share their findings with one another. Instead facilitating interacial communication, the meeting only helped the racial groups become more firmly entrenched in their differences, Saunders said.

At the first League of Women Voters meeting in October, participants will be divided into groups at random Saunders said, so people from different racial and economic backgrounds can work to sort out common miscommunications.

Furthermore, there will be the knowledge that this in the first of many meetings, so people will have a real incentive to learn to work together, Saunders said.

The first meeting will be used to develop strategies for community actions that reduce both the perception and the reality of racism, Saunders said. Later meetings will be used to follow up on the plans and see that they are implemented.

Saunders is looking for volunteers to help with the planning of the meeting and serve as facilitators of the group discussions. She also needs donations of food – and a meeting space. She can be contacted at 898-7625.

Berkeley firefighter John Mason, heralded in several publications a year ago for rebuilding housing for thousands of Albanian refugees in war-torn Kosovo, recently discovered that a bureaucratic oversight has left him without the protection of medical benefits for the past year.

Mason’s situation prompted Councilmember Kriss Worthington to submit a request to the City Council, asking for reimbursement of approximately $550 the firefighter will have paid for private medical insurance by November, which is when he can reapply for his health benefits. The council will consider the recommendation at its meeting on Sept. 11.

“When city staff take a leave of absence to do such inspirational work, the city of Berkeley should send strong messages of support,” Worthington said. “If we can’t force the insurance companies and HMOs to accommodate the flexibility needed in the real world then the city has to do something,”

Mason said when he returned from his leave of absence in September 2000, he asked his supervisor what he needed to do to have his benefits reinstated and was told they would be reinstated automatically when he was back on the payroll.

But Mason said he recently found out that through an administrative error his medical benefits were not reinstated and that he would not be able to apply for them again until November. Mason said he was shocked to discover he had no health insurance.

“I don’t blame the department,” Mason said and added he could not have accomplished as much as he did in Kosovo without the fire department’s support. “At one point I ran out of vacation time and could not have stayed in Kosovo if it hadn’t been for a number of people in the department who stepped up and worked my shifts for me.”

Mason said the problem occurred because there was no comprehensive checklist that covered all the things he needed to do to re-enter the fire department after a long-term leave of absence.

“This is a red tape issue,” he said. “The department’s re-entry process is difficult. You have to reapply for benefits, get relicensed and recertified, etc. but there’s no comprehensive checklist to guide employees.”

Deputy City Manager Phil Kamlarz said Mason is not the only city employee in that situation. “We are limited by our contract with the medical insurance companies,” he said.

Deputy Director of the Human Resource Department Nikki Spillane said the insurance companies insist new and re-entry employees sign up for medical plans within 30 days of being hired and then they are allowed to change plans or companies only during November. Spillane said she assumed the reasons for the restrictions are to prevent people from only signing up for insurance coverage when they have a serious illness.

In 1999, Mason, a 10-year-veteran of the Berkeley Fire Department, was moved by televised images of Albanians displaced by the Serbian ethnic cleansing campaign. Compelled to action, Mason decided to take six weeks of accrued vacation time – he would eventually spend 13 months in Kosovo – and bought a plane ticket.

Mason, who is also a carpenter, boarded a plane toting a handmade plywood crate with attachable wheels and loaded with hammers, saws and rulers and soon found himself in the mountains near the Kosovo-Serbian border. He wrote and submitted a grant request to the U.S. Department of Defense for funds to help rebuild three villages, Gadish, Sllakkofe and Kishnapole. The villages, each with a population of about 120, were more than 80 percent destroyed.

After weeks of fighting the military bureaucracy for approval of the funds, building supplies were delivered to devastated villages just in time to rebuild 60 homes before winter set in.

Mason’s success was written about in the U.S. military newspaper Stars and Stripes and soon after he was contacted by the International Rescue Committee. They wanted him to manage the refurbishing of six buildings that would house 2,000 refugees. Mason returned to Berkeley, arranged a leave of absence from the fire department and accepted the job.

“The provisional NATO Government had identified six buildings that were former government or school buildings that were basically empty shells,” he said. “I managed the refurbishing and once they were occupied we managed food supply, clothing, schooling for the children all the internal and external workings of the facility.”

Mason said when he returned to duty at the fire department in September 2000, he was interviewed by several local and regional publications and the publicity was very good for Berkeley.

Rick Guzman, president of the Berkeley Firefighters Association Local 1227, which represents local firefighters, said Mason’s situation was an “amazing” one.

“The publicity Mason received for his work was good for the city, good for the fire department and good for the union,” he said. “It’s ironic that you have a guy the city used as a hero and now it seems like the city is turning their back on him.”

For a detailed story about John Mason’s experiences in Kosovo go to the Berkeley Fire Department’s Web site www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/Fire/bfdmason.html.

Berkeley astronomers may soon be able to get a better look at the stars thanks to the city’s Planning Department, currently working on an ordinance to reduce light pollution and make sky watching easier.

The idea was born two years ago in the Parks and Recreation Commission. But it did not really catch the city’s attention until earlier this year, after the energy crisis hit the state.

On April 17, the commission brought a recommendation to the City Council, asking its members to draft and adopt an appropriate nighttime outdoor lighting ordinance.

“Many cities have already passed night lighting ordinances for two reasons,” said commissioner Yolanda Huang, who strongly supports the project. It promotes safety and also astronomy, she said.

In its recommendation, the commission suggested the council look at safety, energy efficiency, energy conservation, and the preservation of night sky recreational activities, when discussing lighting.

The City Council referred the project to the Planning Department, which is currently doing some preliminary work, such as looking into the project’s feasibility and cost, said Jay Kelekian, Parks and Recreation Commission secretary.

No document has been drafted yet in Berkeley, but a model outdoor lighting ordinance that was part of one of the commission’s agenda packets gives an idea of the kind of changes such a regulation could bring. It would permit the redesign of outdoor lighting to focus the light on the ground. By controlling the way lights are installed, the document states, problems such as glare or excessive energy use can be avoided. The document regulates, for instance, the height at which different kinds of spot lights should be mounted, or the direction toward which the light should be distributed.

Berkeley uses sodium vapor bulbs, an energy efficient type of bulb, for its outdoor lighting. But property owners often use inefficient bulbs. The ordinance, therefore, should regulate the use of outdoor light on private property, according to Councilmember Kriss Worthington.

“There are cases in Berkeley where neighbors have fights over lights,” he said. “If there is too much light or the wrong kind of light, then it’s a form of pollution.”

But Alan Gould, who works as an astronomy educator at the Lawrence Hall of Science, says some of Berkeley’s public lights could also use some improvement.

“The energy efficient bulbs are only part of the story,” he said. “If you have a light that (shines) half its light up and half its light down, all the light that goes up is wasted. It’s a squandering of energy and a destruction of a precious natural beauty.”

Dozens of amateur astronomy associations in the Bay Area would benefit from the ordinance, Gould added. And the public would too. Right now he said, Berkeley residents miss the enriching experience of watching the sky. The Milky Way, for example, cannot be seen anywhere near the city, he said.

Even for experts, watching the sky in Berkeley is not easy. Steve Dawson, a doctoral student at UC Berkeley’s department of astronomy, said that light pollution keeps him from seeing all he could distinguish through the department’s small telescope if the night were darker.

“We can look at the planets, at clusters of stars, and nearby galaxies,” he said. “But you could see fainter objects if Berkeley turned down its lights.”

A new study by the American Medical Association says that binge drinking is up among American college students, with 44 percent of students reporting that they binge drink, and nearly one in four saying they binge frequently.

At UC Berkeley, officials are concerned about excessive drinking, although the term “binge” in itself is not used there because of its vagueness, senior health educator Aida Cerda said today.

Instead, Cerda said, the university focuses on “high risk” drinking, a more concise, person-specific definition that focuses on the effects of drinking irresponsibly, drinking to get drunk, or drinking to a point where there are unwanted consequences.

- ranging from the next-day hangover to assaults of unwanted sex.

Aided by an $180,000 over two-year grant from the U.S. Department of Education,the university is working on a number of initiatives to add to its alcohol awareness programs.

“We are very realistic that there are students who drink heavily,” Cerda said. “There are also students that don't (drink heavily) and there's also students who abstain from drinking.”

Cerda said that because of the accessibility of alcohol, what's needed is a concerted effort to curb irresponsible drinking by diverse sectors of the community.

That's why one of the programs that the school is launching this year targets members of the schools residential halls, fraternities and sororities, local vendors and alumni in an effort to curb with the effects of high-risk drinking.

According to Cerda, while much has been written about the effects of second-hand smoke, the effects of second-hand drinking often go unnoticed as minor inconveniences: having to “baby sit” for a drunk friend, for example, or having to clean up vomit, or being insulted by a drunk.

The university's program has developed a way of tracking and addressing these grievances. For example, Cerda said, when a person throws up in a residential hall, residents may agree to make the person clean up after their own mess.

Or a Cal football player who shows up hung over for practice may be told that they can't practice that day.

“We're not telling students to drink, or not to drink,” Cerda said. “What we're telling them is that they should be able to have fun without having the pain involved.”

Cerda said the school's approach to alcohol safety includes advice targeted specifically to freshman students. Traditionally, Cerda said, it is these students, most of them away from home for the first time, who are most likely to engage in high-risk drinking.

Especially, Cerda said, during the first three weeks of school, when increases in alcohol-related incidents-- such as unwanted sexual advances, fights and sexual assaults – are usually reported.

Then there's the tragic incidents, like the death of 18-year-old California State University at Chico freshman Adrian Derek Heideman, a Palo

Alto resident, who died from an alcohol overdose at the fraternity he was

pledging at last October

In an effort from preventing any incidents like these at UC

Berkeley, school officials are launching an extensive education campaign and

are also reaching out to the community - including the bars and nightclubs in

the campus area - for help.

“We're not there to close down their business,” Cerda said,

noting that the bars are part of the Berkeley community and many of the

university's students are over 21 and may choose to drink legally.

“It's not that local vendors are the bad guys,” she said. “It's

not about being good or being bad, it's about solving the problems.”

For parents who may be concerned about their student's drinking

patterns, Cerda said that she understands the concern, but added that what

most studies often fail to mention is that a lot of students who drink do so

in a responsible manner, and that the number of students who abstain from

drinking altogether is often underestimated.

The AMA's study is titled “A Matter of Degree: The National Effort

to Reduce High-Risk Drinking Among College Students. The study was made at 10

university campuses.

It calls for alcohol abuse prevention efforts that focus not only

on the individual, but on the rest of the college community, including

college administrators, students, parents, law enforcement officials and bar

owners.

The study, which did not examine UC Berkeley, has these entities

working together to change the advertising and marketing practices that occur

close to college campuses attempting to change not only drinking beliefs

SACRAMENTO — The area known as “Condit Country” would move north under a congressional redistricting proposal released Thursday, further threatening Rep. Gary Condit’s re-election chances.

Sen. Don Perata, the Democratic chairman of the Senate elections committee, said Condit’s district would shift north and take in heavily Democratic areas in Stockton.

The new district, Perata said, would still include Condit’s home in the Modesto suburb of Ceres and be one in which he could run for re-election if he wanted to.

But Tony Quinn, a California political analyst and former Republican redistricting consultant, said such a new district would put Condit in unfamiliar territory among more liberal Democratic voters who wouldn’t support someone tarnished by scandal.

“It kills him,” Quinn said. “They are voters that he doesn’t know and don’t like him.”

The conservative Democrat’s political future, and whether he would have a friendly House district in which to run next year, have been subjects of intense speculation in the months following the May 1 disappearance of Washington, D.C., intern Chandra Levy.

Under the map reviewed Thursday by Condit’s staff, he would gain new voters in San Joaquin County, but lose voters in eastern Stanislaus County, which has always been part of the district.

“You never want to lose any of your base,” conceded Mike Lynch, Condit’s chief of staff.

But he added that under the plan the proportion of Democrats would increase significantly, from 46 percent of the district to 51 percent. Republicans, meanwhile, would decline from 39 percent to 35 percent.

“It’s a good thing for any Democratic candidate in the district, certainly it’s a good thing for Gary,” Lynch said.

State Senate Democrats plan to unveil the congressional redistricting plan in the next day or two that would help Democrats hold on to embattled Rep. Gary Condit’s district, a key senator said Thursday.

“It’s a perfectly fine district; it just moves north,” Perata said.

Another Democrat, however, would appear to have a better chance of success in the new district, Perata said.

Condit has admitted having a relationship with Levy, and the controversy surrounding it has eroded his political standing in his district. A weekend poll showed Condit’s constituents giving him high marks for his performance in office, but only 27 percent said they’d vote for him again.

Forty-six percent of the voters in Condit’s current district are Democrats, and 39 percent are Republicans, but the district has a history of ticket splitting.

Condit was re-elected with more than 67 percent of the vote last year, but President Bush carried the district with nearly 53 percent. It was the only Democratic-held House district that Bush carried in November.

Perata characterized the changes in the Senate’s plan as a way of helping keep the district in Democratic hands whether Condit runs for another term or not.

His district would have to undergo some surgery no matter what because the new districts must be nearly equal in population and Condit’s seat is nearly 7 percent over that ideal population figure now.

Copies of the Senate’s plan were being sent to members of California’s congressional delegation and it could be made public Friday or Saturday, Senate aides said.

Spokesman Kam Kuwata said Assembly Democrats may also propose their own congressional redistricting plan.

Lawmakers are required to redraw legislative and congressional districts every 10 years to reflect population changes revealed by the federal census.

Democrats are in control of the process this year because of their majorities in both houses and the presence of Democrat Gray Davis in the governor’s office.

SAN FRANCISCO — A federal grand jury has indicted three executives of a Marin County electronics firm, accusing them of illegally selling gear to India that could be used to make nuclear weapons, prosecutors said Wednesday.

The indictment charges that the executives of Berkeley Nucleonics Corp. of San Rafael conspired to sale and sold nuclear pulse generators to India without the federal government’s permission between 1999 and 2000. The generators emit electrical pulses and can be used to calibrate radar and nuclear instruments with military applications.

Named in the indictment were company president David Brown, marketing director Richard Hamilton and Vincent Delfino, Berkeley Nucleonics’ former operation manager. Each were charged with one count of conspiracy and one count for selling.

In an interview, Hamilton said the company did not know about the restrictions on exports to India, The firm is among a growing number of companies under fire for exporting to blacklisted countries. The list of export violators in recent years includes big-named companies like IBM, Dell Computers, Compaq, Gateway and Alcoa.

Not long ago, export sanctions applied to just a small number of countries, but the list has broadened during the past five years to include 50 countries. India and Pakistan were added after they conducted nuclear tests in 1998.

Named in the Marin County indictment were company president David Brown, marketing director Richard Hamilton and Vincent Delfino, Berkeley Nucleonics’ former operation manager. Each were charged with one count of conspiracy and one count for selling.

In an interview, Hamilton said the company did not know about the restrictions on exports to India, which were imposed during the Clinton administration when India and Pakistan refused to agree to nonproliferation treaties.

“We did not have the resources to know about it at the time,” Hamilton said. He said the company had a history of selling such devices to India.

Steven Bauer, attorney for Nucleonics, declined to comment on the indictments. But he said the government changes which countries are banned from U.S. exports without notifying the public.

“They’re changed, and nobody tells anybody,” Bauer said.

Neither Brown nor Delfino were available for comment. A court appearance has not been set, said Matthew Jacobs, a Justice Department spokesman, who declined further comment.

The government began building its case in 1999 after agents of the Commerce Office of Export Enforcement posed as exporters in a sting operation, according to court documents.

The indictment accuses the company of shipping the devices to India’s Bhaba Atomic Research Center and the Nuclear Power Corp., both divisions of India’s Department of Atomic Energy.

WASHINGTON — Long-distance mediation by Secretary of State Colin Powell helped Israeli and Palestinian leaders conclude a truce over a West Bank town.

The State Department held out Powell’s telephone diplomacy as evidence the Bush administration was not just sitting on the sidelines in the 11-month Mideast conflict.

“As we’ve always said, when we get a lot of these questions about personal engagement by the secretary, when he can be involved and help something happen, he will do so. He did,” Richard Boucher, the State Department spokesman, said Thursday.

The truce called for Israeli troops to withdraw from Beit Jalla and for the Palestinians to stop sniper activity from the town on Gilo, on the outskirts of Jerusalem.

“We are encouraged.” Boucher said. He said he hoped it would lead to security cooperation between the two sides.

But while calm prevailed in Beit Jalla, a series of bloody flare-ups elsewhere dimmed hopes the truce would spread to other areas.

Technically on vacation, Powell spoke twice on Wednesday to Yasser Arafat, the president of the Palestinian Authority, and twice each to Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Foreign Minister Shimon Peres of Israel.

“He talked to them about the need to maintain calm,” Boucher said. “He talked to the Israeli side about the need to withdraw.”

Arafat wanted to make sure the Israelis would withdraw their troops, a position Powell has embraced. The Israelis wanted to make sure the Palestinians would stop shooting if they did.

“The secretary was able to sort of pass the message that, ‘If you do this, he’ll do that. If you do that, he’ll do this,’ and helped reinforce the kind of understandings that they were reaching,” Boucher said.

Powell also got involved in some of the details of the truce, the spokesman said.

Crediting the Israelis and Palestinians with taking the initiative to seek an agreement, Boucher said it gave Powell an opportunity to intervene constructively.

“To the extent we can be helpful, we will,” Boucher said.

Powell was back on the telephone Thursday with Arafat, King Abdullah II of Jordan, Foreign Minister Ahmed Maher of Egypt, Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer of Germany and Javier Solana, the chief foreign policy adviser to the European Union, seeking their help in trying to end the fighting.

But in Paris, French Foreign Minister Hubert Vedrine said in an earlier interview with the Le Figaro newspaper that the United States was distancing itself from the conflict.

“We’re waiting for them to engage themselves more, given their global responsibilities and the exceptional influence they have over the protagonists of the conflict,” Vedrine said.

He compared the Bush administration to Pontius Pilate, the Roman prefect whom Christians believe ordered the crucifixion of Christ.

Boucher’s response was “the facts speak for themselves.”

Meanwhile, Rep. Eliot Engel, D-N.Y., met with Sharon in Tel Aviv and told The Associated Press in a telephone interview that the prime minister said Arafat would act against Palestinian violence only under pressure.

Sharon also said he would never negotiate the division of Jerusalem with the Palestinians, Engel said.

JERUSALEM (AP) — Three Palestinians were killed and 30 wounded Thursday in clashes with Israeli troops, dimming hopes that a limited U.S-backed truce in one Palestinian town might spread to other areas of the West Bank.

Also Thursday, an Israeli was gunned down by a masked man in a Palestinian village as he sat in a restaurant he helped a friend establish.

Early Friday, an explosion damaged an apartment in a building in the West Bank town of Ramallah where a leader of a large PLO faction lives, but his apartment was not affected and he was unhurt.

Israeli tanks and bulldozers moved into the Rafah refugee camp in the Gaza Strip near the Egyptian border early Friday and tore down at least two houses, Palestinians said. The Israeli military had no comment.

In contrast, calm prevailed in the town of Beit Jalla after Israeli forces withdrew just before daybreak Thursday, ending a two-day operation aimed at stopping Palestinian gunfire at a Jewish neighborhood across a valley, in a disputed part of Jerusalem.

In the divided West Bank city of Hebron, however, street battles erupted after the funeral of an officer in Force 17, an elite unit of Arafat’s security forces, who was killed in a clash Wednesday.

Gunmen took cover behind buildings and fired at Israeli tanks in the Israel-controlled sector of Hebron, drawing return fire. A 50-year-old Palestinian doctor was shot and killed as he ran to retrieve his car. Palestinians said he was not involved in the fighting.

The Israeli military said the exchanges of fire went on throughout the day. They denied a Palestinian claim that an Israeli tank entered the Palestinian section of the city. Most of Hebron was handed over to Palestinian control in 1997, but Israel still controls the center, where about 500 Jewish settlers live in three enclaves among tens of thousands of Palestinians.

Another firefight broke out in the northern part of the West Bank. One Palestinian was killed and nine wounded in the clash, Palestinian doctors said.

Earlier, Israeli troops shot and wounded two Palestinians near the camp. Palestinians said they were members of the radical Islamic Jihad, and that Israel had targeted them.

for killing. The Israeli military would not confirm this, saying only that they were planting a bomb.

In Gaza after nightfall, a Palestinian policeman was killed and four wounded when Israel shelled a Force 17 post in retaliation for mortar shelling of a Jewish settlement, Palestinian security officials said. The Israeli military said its forces opened fire on a group of armed Palestinians who were firing at a Jewish settlement in Gaza.

In all on Thursday, 30 Palestinians were wounded, doctors said.

The 60-year-old Israeli was gunned down in a restaurant in the Palestinian village of Naalin as he waited to be served. The owner, a Palestinian, told Israel radio that the victim was his friend and had helped him open the restaurant.

Since fighting erupted last September, 597 people have been killed on the Palestinian side and 164 on the Israeli side.

Jerusalem police said Thursday they captured a Palestinian armed with two automatic weapons who was planning a gunfire attack in a Jerusalem neighborhood. They surrounded a house where police said his accomplice escaped.

In Gaza, Israeli soldiers lifted a blockade on a main road after cutting it for two days. Earlier Thursday, soldiers refused to let a senior U.N. official pass through.

Palestinian security officials were investigating the explosion early Friday in the Ramallah apartment building where Quyes Abu Layla of the radical Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine lives.

The officials did not accuse Israel of involvement. Neighbors said a member of the militant group Hamas was injured and speculated he may have been making a bomb in his apartment. On Monday, Israel killed the leader of the PFLP, Mustafa Zibri, in a missile attack in Ramallah.

Despite the persistent violence and harsh Palestinian criticism of the latest incursion, Peres remained hopeful. He has been promoting the concept of a staged cease-fire to end the fighting, starting in areas where Arafat has the strongest control.

He hoped that the agreement over Beit Jalla would lead to talks next week on widening the truce, Israeli media reported.

Arriving Thursday in Durban, South Africa for a U.N. conference on racism, Arafat said, “We are trying our best” to arrange a cease-fire.

Israeli Defense Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer called the Beit Jalla incursion a success, because after nearly a year of gunfire at Gilo, Arafat “agreed to take upon himself the obligation to do everything to ensure quiet there.”

However, several Israeli Cabinet ministers, including Public Security Minister Uzi Landau, criticized the decision to pull the army out of Beit Jalla. Landau said Arafat had no intention of permanently stopping the fire at Gilo, built on land Israel captured in the 1967 war and later annexed to Jerusalem.

Back in the ’80s we built a 4,200-plus square-foot home for our cousin. It had every imaginable feature and convenience: Multiple furnaces, a 400-amp main electrical service, a built-in intercom system, built-in ice maker, indoor barbecue, upscale everything. You name it, this house had it. About five years ago lightning struck, and everything in this magnificent home got cooked: televisions, radios, the computer and appliances — even the built-in intercom system.

There are things that you can do to help prevent the same thing from happening to you. Lightning isn’t the only form of electricity that can damage appliances and electronics. Blackouts, brownouts and surges of power associated with them can be equally devastating. Even small surges or spikes eventually can destroy or affect the performance of expensive electronic equipment such as computers, phones, faxes, television sets, VCRs, stereos and microwaves.

Damage can occur instantaneously or over time; smaller surges cause the gradual deterioration of sensitive circuitry. The common use of microprocessor chips has increased the need for surge protection because these chips generally are highly susceptible to voltage fluctuations.

Surges and spikes result from an increase in “normal” electrical line voltage. This often is caused by a sudden change in or demand for more electricity, such as turning on a large appliance, garbage disposal, a/c, washer/dryer, etc. A surge typically measures less than 500 volts and lasts less than two seconds. A spike, on the other hand, is much shorter in duration — less than one-1000th of a second — but can measure into thousands of volts.

Either event can damage electronics beyond repair. Besides change in demand for electricity, everyday electric utility company switching and maintenance can produce damaging electrical surges on your power line. Lighting, blackouts and brownouts are only part of the problem.

Surge protectors act like an electrical sponge, absorbing dangerous excess voltage and preventing most of it from reaching your sensitive equipment. And like a sponge, surge protectors have a limited capacity. Once the capacity is reached, the unit no longer is protecting your equipment and it should be replaced. Underwriters Laboratories (UL) rates surge protectors by amount of voltage protection. The lower the rating, the better the protection. The lowest UL rating for this voltage known as “clamping voltage” is 330 volts.

A few things to look for — and look out for — when purchasing a surge protector:

• Three-line protection — Surges can occur between hot, neutral and ground lines. Choose a unit that protects along all three lines.

• A fuse or circuit breaker — Stops the flow of electricity when a circuit is overloaded. and is not related to surges or spikes.

• Cheaper surge protectors are not designed to handle the higher voltage variety of spikes.

• Response time — Find out how fast the surge suppressor can react. The faster the better.

• Cable line protection — Coaxial cable lines can carry surges and spikes. For complete protection of your television/VCR, you should protect the cable line as well as the power line. To protect this equipment, select a surge protector with coax line protection.

• Digital satellite line protection — Digital satellite lines can also carry surges and spikes. These lines, however, cannot be connected to standard coax cable jacks. Choose a surge protector with specially designed digital satellite jacks.

• Phone line protection — Surges can occur on telephone lines. Phones, answering machines, fax machines and modems can be damaged from surges on phone lines. To protect this equipment, select a surge protector with phone-line protection.

A joule is a measurement of energy. The joule rating on a surge protector indicates the amount of energy or “over voltage” that that device is capable of handling. The higher the joule rating, the better the unit and the longer it will last. The joule rating is determined by the total number of MOVs (metal oxide varistor). An MOV is a component in surge protectors that absorbs excess electrical energy and holds the voltage to a safe level. The more MOVs the better.

As computers get smaller and electronics become more pervasive in our homes, the need for spike and surge protection increases exponentially. Whether it’s lighting or a glitch at the power plant, you don’t want outside forces damaging your property.

For more home improvement tips and information visit our Web site at www.onthehouse.com.

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SAN FRANCISCO — Unable to lure its skittish customers back into the stock market, Charles Schwab Corp. said Thursday it will cut up to 2,400 more jobs as the leading online brokerage continues to dismantle its feverish expansion of a year ago.

The latest job cuts follow a recently completed purge that dumped 3,400 workers. After the latest reductions, Schwab will have approximately 20,000 workers — about 25 percent fewer than at the start of the year.

In this wave of cost cutting, Schwab will lay off 1,600 to 1,900 full-time employees and 200 contractors by the end of October. The company expects to eliminate 200 to 300 more jobs through attrition by the end of the year.

Schwab also plans to unplug many of the computer servers bought last year to handle a boom in online stock trading that was spurred by a bull market, as well as the enticing ads of brokerages across the nation.

Much of Schwab’s technology equipment is unnecessary with the brokerage’s trading volumes 50 percent below the levels at the start of the year.

Some of the computer servers may be sold and others may be kept in storage until Schwab’s business improves, said spokesman Glen Mathison.

With fewer employees and less equipment, Schwab will reduce its administrative office space, most likely in San Francisco, Pleasanton, Denver, Phoenix, New York and Jersey City, N.J., Mathison said. Few, if any, of Schwab’s 400 retail branches are expected to be closed.

Schwab will absorb a third-quarter charge of $225 million to pay for the overhaul, which is expected to save the company about $260 million annually. The company recorded a second-quarter charge of $117 million to pay for the previous restructuring, which is supposed to save Schwab about $180 million annually.

Schwab is trying to reverse a dramatic slide in its earnings this year. The company earned $199 million through the first half of this year, a 54 percent drop from the same time last year.

The slump has devastated Schwab’s stock. The company’s shares fell 15 cents Thursday to close at $12.05 on the New York Stock Exchange. The stock is down 58 percent so far this year in a plunge that has wiped out $23 billion in shareholder wealth.

The latest reorganization will almost completely unravel a hiring spree that Schwab undertook last year as the brokerage scrambled to handle investors eager to buy stocks on the Internet. Schwab entered 2000 with 18,100 employees.

The stock market’s steep decline over the past year has hurt brokerages across the country, but none have been slammed as hard as Schwab, said industry analyst Mark Constant of Lehman Brothers in San Francisco.

Even as the stock market began to wilt last spring, Schwab forged ahead with its expansion, bolstered by profits that continued to rise until the bottom dropped out late last year.

“In hindsight, they got carried away, but you can’t really blame management. For a time, there were a lot of people that thought there was free money to be made out on the Internet,” Constant said.

Like many brokerages, Schwab helped foster the gold-rush mentality with an advertising campaign that touted the benefits of online trading. The company spent $332 million on advertising and marketing last year, more than double its $155 million budget of 1998.

Schwab curbed its spending on advertising by 20 percent through the first half of this year. Hoping to revive its business, the brokerage recently launched a new campaign featuring its CEO, Charles R. Schwab, advising investors not to fret about the stock market’s turmoil.

CUPERTINO (AP) — Apple Computer Inc. said Thursday it has cut an undisclosed number of sales jobs, but that the overall headcount in its sales and retail departments continues to grow.

The computer-maker, like others in the industry, has been struggling with slumping demand for personal computers in the weak economy. Still, Apple had not previously announced job cuts during the current economic downturn.

In a statement, the company said new staff have been added as the company opens retail stores and places salespeople in some CompUSA stores.

“While some sales positions have been reassigned or eliminated during the normal course of business, the overall headcount in our sales and retail groups is growing,” the statement said.

An Apple spokeswoman would not disclose how many positions were cut.

Despite record low prices, the PC industry is expected to see its first-ever drop in sales this year. Business is not expected to recover until next year or early 2003, according to analysts.

Other computer-makers, including Dell Computer Corp. and Gateway Inc., have cut thousands of jobs in recent months.

Dave Lyons, president of the Rosa Parks Elementary School PTA, thought he was ready for the first day of school.

Lyons took his twin daughters along for a school clean up session over the weekend so they would have an opportunity to meet their new teacher before the first day of school. Both are entering the first grade this year.

In their father’s presence, the girls didn’t seemed the least bit fazed by the change in classrooms and teachers, Lyons said. But Wednesday morning, just minutes after the first day of school had officially begun, one came running to Lyons where he stood greeting people at the front gate to the school. Tears streamed down her face.

“She couldn’t find Room 14 and she didn’t know where anything was,” Lyons said a half-hour later, after the crisis had been resolved.

“As a parent, you have a scenario all worked out,” Lyons said. “But you’re not 7, and you do not know what it’s like to be 7!”

After a summer spent hanging out with friends, visiting family across the country, and attending summer camps, more than 9,000 Berkeley K-12 students headed back to school Wednesday. Parents and guardians gathered at schools throughout the city to usher children into school – and assure themselves that all was well.

Frances Van, 72, and Sue Brown, 68 – both great aunts of students entering Rosa Parks this year – met for the first time as they waited in front of the school to see that the children arrived safely on the bus.

“I let her ride the bus for the first time, so I decided to come here and make sure she made it,” Van said.

“This has been a new start for the both of us,” Van added, explaining that her own daughter is now 38 years old and it’s been a while since she’s gone through the whole first-day-of-school experience.

Brown said the children she’s responsible for are not only new to Rosa Parks, but new to Berkeley, having just moved here from Oregon. But Brown said she wasn’t too worried about the adjustment they would have to make.

“I’ve heard good reports about Rosa Parks,” Brown said.

Mira Santos, a “parent advocate” in Rosa Parks’ Family Resource Center and the mother of two students at the school, said her children could hardly wait to get back.

“My kids are way ready,” Santos said. “Summers are great, but I think the routine and structure of the school day, for my kids, works pretty well.”

Fourth grader Corey Cisney and Alex Stevenson greeted each other in front of the school Wednesday after summers spent traveling in different parts of the country. They said they were glad to be back among their friends at Rosa Parks. But Stevenson confessed to being a little nervous about the start of fourth grade.

“They start piling up the homework, because you’re about to go into middle school,” Stevenson said. “I think it’s going to be harder.”

Flawless opening at Willard

Over at Willard Middle School Wednesday, they were having one of the smoothest first days of school in recent memory, according to John Williams, a student safety officer at the school for nearly 20 years.

With a new principal and vice-principal, and a whole cast of new teachers, there is change afoot at Willard, Williams said.

“There are a lot of new faces, and a lot of new energy,” he said. “The change is good.”

Willard English and History teacher Doug Dohrer, a new teacher at Willard hired just a few weeks ago, said he spent the first day of school just trying to get to know his students.

Middle school students have a tendency to spend the first day of school in “stunned” silence, Dohrer said. So he organized a game where they would have to go from desk to desk introducing themselves to each other.

The first homework assignment for Dohrer’s students is to write a letter to their new teacher, giving him some biographical information, likes and dislikes, etc.

And at Berkeley High School Wednesday, teenagers sporting the latest in youth fashion arrived on campus to find police stationed near the school’s entrances. A rumor had circulated that the first day of school could be marked by a shooting, said Principal Frank Lynch.

“Once you have that information, you have to plan for it like it’s going to happen,” he said.

Far from dealing with any violence Wednesday, however, Lynch spent part of his afternoon chasing students into class after they returned late from lunch period.

“Perfect attendance this year,” Lynch exhorted one group of students. “No tardies.”

Lynch has launched a new truancy policy at the school this year that spells out clear consequences for what will happen when students miss class repeatedly. The absence of such a policy led to lax enforcement of attendance, according to many Berkeley High parents and staff.

When Cal women’s soccer coach Kevin Boyd is asked about his biggest concern heading into the 2001 season, he has a hard time coming up with something he’s really worried about. But ask him about the team’s biggest strength, and an answer is immediate.

“Our attacking potential is just great,” Boyd said Tuesday. “We’ve been playing exceptionally well up front, with our attacking midfielders really doing some great work. We’re just loaded offensively.”

But although Boyd may be excited about his midfielders, the real optimism comes from having Laura Schott and Kyla Sabo up front. Schott, a junior from Wilsonville, Ore., was named first team All-America last season after leading the Pac-10 in points (47), goals (23) and game-winning goals (9). She spent the summer traveling with the U.S. under-21 national team, scoring her first international goal against Norway, and should be even more of a force this year.

“”The biggest improvement for Laura has been tactically,” Boyd said. “She reads the game better, and she’s more assertive.”

Schott needs 21 goals this year to tie the team record for career scores, held by Joy Biefield-Fawcett.

Slightly overshadowed by Schott’s breakout season was Sabo’s steady play. Starting all 21 games last season, Sabo led the team with eight assists and scored six goals. The senior works well with Schott, as six of her assists led to goals by her strike partner. She was a steadying influence up front, a nice contrast to the explosive All-American.

Boyd said he will likely play with three forwards this season, with junior Krysti Whalen and sophomore Kassie Doubrava competing for the third spot. But according to Boyd, there are even more options up front for the Bears.

Boyd is now in his fifth year with Cal, and this year’s team is the most highly regarded to start the season during his tenure. Most pre-season polls have the Bears in the top 15 nationally, with Soccerbuzz.com ranking them fifth. But that doesn’t seem to make much of a difference for the coach.

“We’re not looking at the rankings yet. Pre-season rankings don’t mean a hill of beans. It’s where you finish that matters,” Boyd said.

The biggest question marks come in the back for Boyd’s team, as four-year starting goalkeeper Maite Zabala and two starting fullbacks are gone. While the defensive slots are covered with veterans Kathleen Cain and Kim Stocklmeir, there is a fierce battle taking place for Zabala’s spot in the net, with four candidates bucking for the starting nod. Senior Gabby Ronick would seem to be the front-runner, as she was Zabala’s understudy last year, but true freshman Mallory Moser, from Branson High in Marin County, has looked impressive and could earn significant playing time.

“It was easy before, as Maite was clearly the strongest goalkeeper we had,” Boyd said. “But competition can be a very healthy thing, make everyone work even harder.”

Boyd is leaning toward playing with four fullbacks, rather than last year’s three-woman defense. Departed Tami Pivnik was a natural at sweeper, taking control over the defense and cleaning up mistakes, but none of the current defenders can fill that role. Instead, they will play a flat four in back, with sophomore Lucy Brining joining Cain, Stocklmeir and lone returning starter Ashley Mueller.

The midfield should be a strength, with junior Brittany Kirk and sophomores Kim Yokers and Ashley Valenzuela all holding onto their starting positions. The Bears lost stalwart wing Natalie Stuhlmueller, but will play with three midfielders rather than the four from last season. Kirk was third on the team with 13 points last year, including overtime game-winning goals against Missouri and USC, while the fiery Valenzuela was the team’s Freshman of the Year while starting 19 games.

But Yokers could be the best of the three this year, as Boyd considers her to be on the verge of a breakout season. An excellent defender, Yokers is much stronger this year and could control the flow of the game from her central position.

Other players who will compete for playing time in the midfield include junior Lee Ann Morton, one of the team’s fastest players, and freshman Kacy Hornor from University High in San Francisco.

Sedge Thomson’s West Coast Live Radio Show Sept. 1: Rita Moreno, has won Oscar, Tony, Emmy and Grammy awards for her work on stage and screen. Mark Wing-Davey, director of “36 Views,” opening at the Berkeley Repertory Theater. Kent Nerburn, author of “Road Angels.” The Shotgun Players open a window into their show: “Winesburg Ohio: Tales of the Grotesque.” Julia Morgan Theatre, 2640 College Ave.; Sept. 29: Nancy Miford, author of “Savage Beauty.” West African folk music with The Nigerian Brothers. Blues roots piano by Caroline Dahl. The Freight and Salvage, 1111 Addison St. All shows 10 a.m. - noon. 252-9214 www.wcl.org

“Winesburg, Ohio: Tales of the Grotesque” Sept. 6 through Sept. 16, Wed. - Sat. 8:30 p.m., Sun. 5 p.m. The Shotgun Players and Word For Word team up for a production of Sherwood Anderson’s deceptively simple tale of neglected souls who fade into the shadows around us. $22, Wednesdays are “Pay What You Can.” Julia Morgan Theatre, 2640 College Ave. 655-0813 www.shotgunplayers.org

“Murder Dressed in Satin” by Victor Lawhorn, ongoing. A mystery-comedy dinner show at The Madison about a murder at the home of Satin Moray, a club owner and self-proclaimed socialite with a scarlet past. Dinner is included in the price of the theater ticket. $47.50 Lake Merritt Hotel, 1800 Madison St., Oakland. 239-2252 www.acteva.com/go/havefun

“50 Years of Photography in Japan 1951 - 2001” Sept. 5 through Nov. 5: An exhibition from The Yomiuri Shimbun, the world’s largest daily newspaper with a national morning circulation of 10,300,000. Photographs of work, love, community, culture and disasters of Japan as seen by Japanese news photographers. Opening Reception Sept. 5: 6 - 8 p.m. open to the public; Mon. - Fri. 8 a.m. - 6 p.m. U.C. Berkeley, Graduate School of Journalism, North Gate Hall, Hearst and Euclid. Free. 642-3383

UC Berkeley Museum of Paleontology Lobby, Valley Life Sciences Building, UC Berkeley “Tyrannosaurus Rex,” ongoing. A 20 by 40-foot replica of the fearsome dinosaur made from casts of bones of the most complete T. Rex skeleton yet excavated. When unearthed in Montana, the bones were all lying in place with only a small piece of the tailbone missing. “Pteranodon” A suspended skeleton of a flying reptile with a wingspan of 22-23 feet. The Pteranodon lived at the same time as the dinosaurs. Free. Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Saturday and Sunday, 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. 642-1821

UC Berkeley Phoebe Hearst Museum of Anthropology will close its exhibition galleries for renovation. It will reopen in early 2002. On View until Oct. 1 : “Ishi and the Invention of Yahi Culture.” “Sites Along the Nile: Rescuing Ancient Egypt.” “The Art of Research: Nelson Graburn and the Aesthetics of Inuit Sculpture.” “Tzintzuntzan, Mexico: Photographs by George Foster.” $2 general; $1 seniors; $.50 children age 17 and under; free on Thursdays. Wednesday, Friday through Sunday, 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.; Thursday, 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Kroeber Hall, Bancroft Way and College Ave. 643-7648 or www.qal.berkeley.edu/~hearst/

Lawrence Hall of Science “Science in Toyland,” through Sept. 9. Exhibit uses toys to demonstrate scientific principles and to help develop children's thinking processes. Susan Cerny’s collection of over 200 tops from around the world. “Space Weather,” through Sept. 2. Learn about solar cycles, space weather, the cause of the Aurorae and recent discoveries made by leading astronomers. This interactive exhibit lets visitors access near real-time data from the Sun and space, view interactive videos and find out about a variety of solar activities. “Within the Human Brain,” ongoing. Visitors test their cranial nerves, play skeeball, master mazes, match musical tones and construct stories inside a simulated “rat cage” of learning experiments. “Saturday Night Stargazing,” First and third Saturdays each month. 8 - 10 p.m., LHS plaza. Space Weather Exhibit now - Sept. 2; now - Sept. 9 Science in Toyland; Saturdays 12:30 - 3:30 p.m. $7 for adults; $5 for children 5-18; $3 for children 3-4. 642-5132

Holt Planetarium Programs are recommended for age 8 and up; children under age 6 will not be admitted. $2 in addition to regular museum admission. “Constellations Tonight” Ongoing. Using a simple star map, learn to identify the most prominent constellations for the season in the planetarium sky. Daily, 3:30 p.m. $7 general; $5 seniors, students, disabled, and youths age 7 to 18; $3 children age 3 to 5 ; free children age 2 and younger. Daily 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Centennial Drive, UC Berkeley 642-5132 or www.lhs.berkeley.edu

Oakland Museum of California, Made in Oakland: The Furniture of Garry Knox Bennett, through Sept. 2; After the Storm: Bob Walker and the Art of Environmental Photography, through Sept. 16; Half Past Autumn: The Art of Gordon Parks, through Sept. 23; Wednesday - Saturday, 10 a.m. - 5 p.m., Sunday, noon - 5 p.m., Closed Monday and Tuesday. $6 general; $4 youths (6-17), seniors and students with ID. Free for Museum members and children 5 and under. Free admission the second Sunday of the month. 10th & Oak Streets, Oakland. 238-2200 www.museum.org

SAN FRANCISCO – On a cable car over Nob Hill the other day, I overheard a blonde, middle-age tourist whisper this confidence to her companion: “It sure ain’t Texas, I can tell you that much.” “No kidding,” mumbled the burly man in a Hawaiian shirt as he continued filming the city with his camcorder.

The Texan couple’s sense of displacement stems, at least in part, from San Francisco’s unmistakable Oriental twang. For the tourist’s camcorder is sure to capture, amid the city’s Victorians and scenic hills, images that confirm San Francisco’s central place in the Pacific Century: Young Asian students spilling out of grammar schools, video stores displaying the latest Hong Kong thrillers, karaoke bars and sidewalk stalls filled with string beans, bokchoy, ginger, and bitter melons.

San Francisco is now part of a statewide trend that has resulted in majority becoming minority, with minority continuing to surge and multiply. The latest census showed that whites have slowly shrunk to 41 percent of the population in San Francisco, becoming another minority in a city that has no majority.

The city’s Asian population, on the other hand, has risen above the 30 percent mark. That is, one in three San Francisco residents has an Asian face. And within a few years, according to demographers, Asians will become San Francisco’s largest ethnic group, surpassing whites and joining Honolulu as the only major U.S. cities with an Asian majority.

But what does it mean when the city’s compass is pointing increasingly toward the Pacific? For one thing, there is an enormous shift in the cultural landscape. What were once considered private and esoteric passions and practices have, like the bokchoy and string beans, spilled irrevocably into the public domain.

Take Feng Shui. An architect friend went to Hong Kong recently to take Fengshui lessons. Why? Since many of his clients believe in this art of geomancy, he has to seriously study the Chi, the flow of energy as perceived by Taoist priests, in order to build suburban houses that suit many of his buyers.

Or take yoga. Yoga studios are enjoying the highest attendance ever, and, in the spirit of full disclosure, I will gladly admit that I am an enthusiast. Every few days or so, I go to sweat and stretch with a diverse group of young practitioners. While the instructor tells us to “find your inner peace” and “breathe, breathe, breathe,” a picture of a smiling yogi from India smiles benevolently at us from above.

And I breathe in, breathe out.

But I am also thinking: How things have changed. Arriving as a Vietnamese refugee to San Francisco a quarter of a century ago, I grew up thinking that incense smoke, gongs and Confucian dramas were the private preoccupations of an Asian immigrant. For a while, I resigned myself to the idea that public and private cultures in America would never meet.

But that old assumption has eroded, giving way to the forces of globalization, which, as far as the San Francisco Bay Area is concerned, involves, in large part, the rising influence of the Far East.

After all, three decades ago, who would have thought that sushi, raw tuna, salmon, ginger and wasabi would become an indelible part of American taste? Or that Vietnamese fish sauce would be found down aisle three at Safeway? Or that HMOs would accept acupuncture as legitimate therapy? Or that Fengshui would become a household word?

But perhaps the biggest result in the changing demography is this: An Asian teenager growing up in San Francisco these days does not see himself or herself as a minority in any sense of the word. If anything, they see themselves playing a central role. Since Asians already outnumber whites among the school-age population, the high school football star and homecoming queen are likely to be Asians. Asian students know, in fact, that the West is increasingly relying on the Far East for its sources of inspiration and entertainment, be it Thai food, Tibetan Buddhism or Hong Kong movies.

Besides, one of the biggest museums here is the Asian Art Museum in Golden Gate Park. It’s among the largest in the Western world, with more than 11,000 artifacts from more than a dozen Asian countries. Two daily newspapers here are in Chinese. And the Examiner, a newspaper once owned by William Randolph Hearst, is now owned by an Asian family named Fang.

A closer look at the Asian population in America will reveal that almost three out of four are immigrants. And while previous generations of Asian immigrants may have felt the pressure to assimilate, shaving the accent from their tongue, hiding their grandparents’ joss sticks, the reverse seems true with the latest newcomers. For the new Asian immigrants are not just bringing their ambition to America, they are also carrying their civilizations as well.

And they come at a time when being ethnic is chic, and movement and communications back and forth across the Pacific Ocean are the norm. Also, Asia has in the last three decades begun to shrug off the weight of colonialism, and its inferiority complex to the West, and assert its cultural identity on a global stage.

An Asian immigrant to the Bay Area does not feel pressure to give up his or her cultural heritage but, in fact, takes pride in keeping it. By sheer dent of living, this immigrant challenges the status quo and changes the Californian landscape.

Writer Richard Rodriguez once observed that each new wave of immigrants brings changes as radical as Christopher Columbus did to the Indians. This seems quite true if you take into account what I saw one Sunday in Golden Gate Park: a group of middle-aged, white and black Americans doing Tai Chi on the grass, led by an old Chinese woman. Watching them, it occurred to me that the Far East has come very near San Francisco and is beginning to subvert the age old black-white dialogue about identity and race, infusing it with even more complex model -- one informed by a trans-Pacific sensibility.

PNS Editor Andrew Lam (lam@pacificnews.org ) is a short story writer and journalist.

Thursday August 30, 2001

Thursday, Aug. 30

Salsa Dance Classes

7:30 p.m.

Berkeley Richmond Jewish Community Center

1414 Walnut St.

Classes every Thursday with live percussionists, light refreshments, DJ playing Latin music. $10 or $15 for two.

Saturday, Sept. 1

Free Sailboat Rides

1 - 4 p.m. Sat., Sun.

Cal Sailing Club

Berkeley Marina

The Cal Sailing Club gives free rides on a first come, first served bases on the first full weekend of each month. Wear warm clothes and bring a change of clothes in case you get wet. Children must be at least five years old and must be accompanies by an adult. www.cal-sailing.org

Monday, Sept. 3

Intensive Production Urban Gardening Training

10 a.m. - 4 p.m.

Santa Fe Bar & Grill

1310 University Ave.

Learn ways to intensively and organically grow produce for your own use or for an urban market garden. A hands-on training in the garden located behind the restaurant and potluck lunch at 1 p.m. 841-1110

Potluck Picnic and Poetry

noon - 4 p.m.

Live Oak Park

Walnut and Rose streets

Bay Area Poets Coalition hosts a Labor Day potluck picnic followed by an open poetry reading. All are welcome to bring food and poetry to share. 527-9905 poetalk@aol.com

East Bay’s crisis of working poverty to be investigated at the hearing. Featuring a panel and audience of East Bay political, religious, labor and community leaders, including: Congresswoman Barbara Lee, Alameda County Supervisor Keith Carson and others. 893-7106

Tuesday, Sept. 4

Intelligent Conversation

7 - 9 p.m.

Berkeley Richmond Jewish Community Center

A discussion group open to all, regardless of age, religion, viewpoint, etc. This time the discussion will center on Friendships: deep, superficial, and what obligations? Informally led by Robert Berend, who founded similar groups in L.A., Menlo Park, and Prague. Bring light snacks/drinks to share. Free. 527-5332

A free environmental poetry festival with a day of poetry, music and environmental activism featuring Gary Snyder, Maxine Hong Kingston, Robert Haas, Francisco X. Alarcon, and Earll Kingston as John Wesley Powell. Strawberry Creek Walk at 10 a.m. Oxford and Center. 526-9105 www.poetryflash.org

Youth Arts Studio

2 - 5 p.m.

All Souls Episcopal Parish

2220 Cedar St.

Demonstration classes for after school program in visual arts, creative writing and dramatic arts for students ages 10 - 15. Free. 848-1755

Luna Kids Dance Open House

10 - 11 a.m.

Grace North Church

2138 Cedar

Free open house and Parent/ Child classes. Designed to give families a shared dance experience that connects body, mind, and soul. Children will have a chance to play fun dance games, refreshments and register for Fall Session. 525-4339 www.lunakidsdnace.com

Pack Right, Travel Smart

1 p.m.

Recreational Equipment

1338 San Pablo Ave.

Eagle Creek Rep will give you tips on how to best organize your gear and clothing for your next adventure. Free. 527-4140

Free Emergency Preparedness Class

10 a.m. - 5 p.m.

812 Page St.

Earthquake Retrofitting class. Free to anyone 18 or older, who lives or works in Berkeley. 644-8736 www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/fire.oes.html

A program that offers outdoor and leadership skills. First through Fifth Grade boys and parents. Free. 525-6058

Jewish Genealogy: Finding Your Jewish Family History

7:30 - 9 p.m.

Berkeley Richmond Jewish Community Center

1414 Walnut St.

Learn basic techniques and resources to trace your family history. 848-0237

Berkeley Folk Dancers

7:45 p.m. - 9:45 p.m.

Live Oak Park

1301 Shattuck

New Fall classes starts. Mondays through Oct. 29; $20

http://geocities.com/bdancers

Tuesday, Sept. 11

Ecology of Mediterranean Climate Streams

5:15 - 6:30 p.m.

U.C. Berkeley

212 O’Brien Hall

Part of the California Colloquium on Water lecture series. Vincent H. Rash, Professor of Entomology and Parasitology will give a lecture including questions and answers. 642-2666 lvida@library.berkeley.edu

Berkeley Camera Club

7:30 p.m.

Northbrae Community Church

941 The Alameda

Share your slides and learn what other photographers are doing. Monthly field trips. 525-3565

Berkeley Farmers’ Market

2-7 p.m.

Derby Street between Martin Luther King Jr. Way and Milvia Street.

548-3333

Free Early Music Group

10 - 11:30 a.m.

North Berkeley Senior Center

1901 Hearst Ave.

Small group sings madrigals and other voice harmony every Tuesday.

655-8863

Dateline: Israel 2001: A middle East Update

7:30 - 9 p.m.

Berkeley Richmond Jewish Community Center

1414 Walnut St.

Informative and timely presentation on the current situation in the Middle East with Professor Ze’ev Brinner. 848-0237

“Too Sick to Work: Cash Assistance and Health Insurance if Cancer Prevents You from Working.” This workshop will provide information about State and Federal disability programs that provide cash benefits and health insurance to people unable to work due to a serious health condition. 601-4040 x303

Wednesday, Sept. 12

Women’s Group

7 p.m.

Boadecia’s Books

398 Colusa Ave.

Will discuss “In the Name of Salome” by Julia Alvarez. New members welcome. 559-9184 www.bookpride.com

Fishbowl: Everything You always Wanted to Know About the Opposite Sex But Were Afraid to Ask

Berkeley Richmond Jewish Community Center

1414 Walnut St.

Dating, relationships, religions, sexuality and values. An opportunity to ask anonymous questions in a confidential and supportive environment. Social and Single. $8. 848-0237

Bring as many people as possible to make a statement before the Court in Oakland in defense of protective landmark status to the oldest dated mound site in the Bay Area. Landmark status is currently being contested by the industrial property owners who originated this lawsuit against the city of Berkeley. Time and place may change, call ahead to confirm: 841-8562

Orangutans in the Wild: Travel in Borneo

7 p.m.

Recreational Equipment

1338 San Pablo Ave.

Professional photographer and writer Christine Krieg will give a slide show of her travels to the Tanjung Puting National Park on the south coast of Central Kalimantan. Free. 527-4140

An evening of reflection by the fire. Come for Havdalah. Bring something to burn as a way of letting it go. Share your voice as we sing of seasons, remembering and change. Come with food, drink, and musical instruments.

Follow signs to the Olympic Circle Sailing Club on Spinnaker Way. At the sign of the Sailing Club, turn left into the parking lot and seek a fish windsock. 848-0237

The 2001 International Coastal Cleanup

9 a.m. - noon

Beaches and waterways

Every year, volunteers of all ages spend three hours combing beaches and shorelines for trash that pollutes waters, harms marine life, hampers tourism, and poses health risks for beach-users. Over 850,000 volunteers hauled in more than 13.5 million pounds of trash last year. 1-800-262-BEACH www.oceanconservancy.org

Free Emergency Preparedness Class

9 a.m. - 11 a.m.

997 Cedar St.

Basic Personal Preparedness. Free to anyone 18 or older, who lives or works in Berkeley. 644-8736 www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/fire.oes.html

Healing Into the New Year: An Experiential Workshop on the Psychological and Mystical Dimensions of the High Holidays

10 a.m. - noon

Berkeley Richmond Jewish Community Center

1414 Walnut St.

Using Hassidic teachings and stories, music, and guided meditation, participants will be guided through an inner journey of healing and renewal in preparation for the High Holidays. 848-0237 www.lehrhaus.org

Monday, Sept. 17

Women’s Classics Book Group

7 p.m.

Boadecia’s Books

398 Colusa Ave.

A new group will discuss “The Golden Notebook” by Doris Lessing. 559-9184 www.bookpride.com

Tuesday, Sept. 18

Berkeley Camera Club

7:30 p.m.

Northbrae Community Church

941 The Alameda

Share your slides and learn what other photographers are doing. Monthly field trips. 525-3565

Learn how to adjust your brakes from one of REI’s bike technicians. All you need to bring is your bike, tools are provided. Free. 527-4140

Monday, Sept. 24

Free Legal Workshop

6 - 8 p.m.

Women’s Cancer Resource Center

3023 Shattuck Ave.

Find out about the Family Medical Leave Act, Americans with Disability Act, and the California Fair Employment and Housing Act. Laws protect you from termination during an experience with cancer or other serious medical condition. 601-4040 x302

Tuesday, Sept. 25

Berkeley Camera Club

7:30 p.m.

Northbrae Community Church

941 The Alameda

Share your slides and learn what other photographers are doing. Monthly field trips. 525-3565

Share your slides and prints with other photographers. Critiques by qualified judges. Monthly field trips.

531-8664

Free Early Music Group

10 - 11:30 a.m.

North Berkeley Senior Center

1901 Hearst Ave.

Small group sings madrigals and other voice harmony every Tuesday.

655-8863

Thursday, Oct. 4

Berkeley Metaphysical Toastmasters Club

6:15 - 7:30 p.m.

2515 Hillegass Ave.

Public speaking skills and metaphysics come together. Ongoing first and third Thursdays each month.

Call 869-2547

Friday, Oct. 5

Saturday, Oct. 6

Free Sailboat Rides

1 - 4 p.m.

Cal Sailing Club

Berkeley Marina

The Cal Sailing Club, a non-profit sailing and windsurfing cooperative, give free rides on a first come, first served bases on the first full weekend of each month. Wear warm clothes and bring a change of clothes in case you get wet. Children must be at least five years old and must be accompanies by an adult.

Visit www.cal-sailing.org

Sunday, Oct. 7

Free Sailboat Rides

1 - 4 p.m.

Cal Sailing Club

Berkeley Marina

The Cal Sailing Club, a non-profit sailing and windsurfing cooperative, give free rides on a first come, first served bases on the first full weekend of each month. Wear warm clothes and bring a change of clothes in case you get wet. Children must be at least five years old and must be accompanies by an adult.

Share your slides and prints with other photographers. Critiques by qualified judges. Monthly field trips.

531-8664

Friday, Nov. 2

Saturday, Nov. 3

Free Sailboat Rides

1 - 4 p.m.

Cal Sailing Club

Berkeley Marina

The Cal Sailing Club, a non-profit sailing and windsurfing cooperative, give free rides on a first come, first served bases on the first full weekend of each month. Wear warm clothes and bring a change of clothes in case you get wet. Children must be at least five years old and must be accompanies by an adult.

Visit www.cal-sailing.org

Sunday, Nov. 4

Free Sailboat Rides

1 - 4 p.m.

Cal Sailing Club

Berkeley Marina

The Cal Sailing Club, a non-profit sailing and windsurfing cooperative, give free rides on a first come, first served bases on the first full weekend of each month. Wear warm clothes and bring a change of clothes in case you get wet. Children must be at least five years old and must be accompanies by an adult.

Visit www.cal-sailing.org

Tuesday, Nov. 6

Berkeley Farmers’ Market

2-7 p.m.

Derby Street between Martin Luther King Jr. Way and Milvia Street

548-3333

Berkeley Camera Club

7:30 p.m.

Northbrae Community Church, 941 The Alameda

Share your slides and prints with other photographers. Critiques by qualified judges. Monthly field trips.

531-8664

Thursday, Nov. 8

Tuesday, Nov. 13

Berkeley Farmers’ Market

2-7 p.m.

Derby Street between Martin Luther King Jr. Way and Milvia Street

548-3333

Berkeley Camera Club

7:30 p.m.

Northbrae Community Church, 941 The Alameda

Share your slides and prints with other photographers. Critiques by qualified judges. Monthly field trips.

531-8664

Friday, Nov. 16

Tuesday, Nov. 20

Berkeley Farmers’ Market

2-7 p.m.

Derby Street between Martin Luther King Jr. Way and Milvia Street

548-3333

644-6109

Berkeley Camera Club

7:30 p.m.

Northbrae Community Church, 941 The Alameda

Share your slides and prints with other photographers. Critiques by qualified judges. Monthly field trips.

531-8664

Thursday, Nov. 22

Tuesday, Nov. 27

Berkeley Farmers’ Market

2-7 p.m.

Derby Street between Martin Luther King Jr. Way and Milvia Street

548-3333

Berkeley Camera Club

7:30 p.m.

Northbrae Community Church, 941 The Alameda

Share your slides and prints with other photographers. Critiques by qualified judges. Monthly field trips.

531-8664

Saturday, Dec. 1

Free Sailboat Rides

1 - 4 p.m.

Cal Sailing Club

Berkeley Marina

The Cal Sailing Club, a non-profit sailing and windsurfing cooperative, give free rides on a first come, first served bases on the first full weekend of each month. Wear warm clothes and bring a change of clothes in case you get wet. Children must be at least five years old and must be accompanies by an adult.

Visit www.cal-sailing.org

Sunday, Dec. 2

Free Sailboat Rides

1 - 4 p.m.

Cal Sailing Club

Berkeley Marina

The Cal Sailing Club, a non-profit sailing and windsurfing cooperative, give free rides on a first come, first served bases on the first full weekend of each month. Wear warm clothes and bring a change of clothes in case you get wet. Children must be at least five years old and must be accompanies by an adult.

Tilden Regional Park, in the parking lot that dead ends at the Little Farm

Join a few seniors, the Tuesday Tilden Walkers, for a stroll around Jewel Lake and the Little Farm Area. Enjoy the beauty of the wildflowers, turtles, and warblers, and waterfowl.

215-7672; members.home.co

m/teachme99/tilden/index.html

Berkeley Farmers’ Market

2-7 p.m.

Derby Street between Martin Luther King Jr. Way and Milvia Street

548-3333

Berkeley Camera Club

7:30 p.m.

Northbrae Community Church, 941 The Alameda

Share your slides and prints with other photographers. Critiques by qualified judges. Monthly field trips.

531-8664

Wednesdays

Thursdays

Free Anonymous HIV Testing (?) (?)

5:15 - 7:15 p.m.

Check in 5 - 7 p.m.

University Health Services

Tang Center

2222 Bancroft Way

Drop-in services and limited space is available.

Call 642-7202

Fridays

Saturdays

Berkeley Farmers’ Market

10 a.m. - 3 p.m.

Center Street between Martin Luther King Jr. Way and Milvia Street

548-3333

Poets Juan Sequeira and Wanna Thibideux Wright

Free Sailboat Rides

1 - 4 p.m.

Cal Sailing Club

Berkeley Marina

The Cal Sailing Club, a non-profit sailing and windsurfing cooperative, give free rides on a first come, first served bases on the first full weekend of each month. Wear warm clothes and bring a change of clothes in case you get wet. Children must be at least five years old and must be accompanies by an adult.

The first day of Berkeley High School’s new student ID policy was far from a booming success, with many students not receiving their identification cards and most of the others disregarding the policy even though they had their tags.

Last year’s policy said that all students simply had to have their student identification with them at all times. Students were rarely asked for their IDs for reasons other than dances or discount sports tickets.

This year all students and faculty will be required to wear their identification cards where they can be easily seen.

Although the policy won’t officially be in effect until Sept. 6, many students said they wouldn’t wear the new cards anyway.

“The only people who are wearing them are the freshman who haven’t caught on yet,” said junior David Chernicoff. “The new system isn’t going to work because none of the students are going to respect it.”

According to Principal Frank Lynch, the student ID policy was changed because there were a lot of problems caused last year by non-Berkeley High students who were on campus and couldn’t be identified as non-Berkeley High Students.

“We found out that we had people on campus who didn’t belong here,” said Lynch, “and the only way we could stop that from happening would be if we could identify them immediately.”

However, many students who do attend Berkeley High do not like the idea of keeping their ID cards visible.

About 50 law enforcement officers and 24 cadets attended an all-day seminar and training at Oakland City Hall to become more familiar with issues related to the Lesbian Gay Bisexual and Transgender community.

Organizers said the seminar’s goal was to train officers to better respond to LGBT issues including hate crimes, domestic violence and the transgender community. The training sessions were given by Bay Area law enforcement officers.

The seminar was presented by the nonprofit East Bay Pride, and the Berkeley and Oakland police departments. The training sessions were held in conjunction with the 21st World Conference of the International Lesbian and Gay Association, which began in Oakland on Aug. 24 and ends Sept. 3.

“We sent out 99 invitations to police and sheriffs’ departments in 10 Bay Area counties and got a good response,” said Berkeley Police Officer Kelly Gordon, who helped organize the voluntary seminar with Oakland Police Officer Becky Campbell.

“Berkeley’s claim to fame is we were the first Police Department, probably in the world, to mandate LGBT sensitivity training for all department employees both sworn and non-sworn officers, from the chief to the meter maids,” she said.

Gordon and Campbell were scheduled to be presented with the East Bay Pride Community Service Award at Wednesday’s Lighting of the Lake, an outdoor concert and Enlightenment Ceremony during which the three miles of white lights that surround Lake Merritt are changed to pink.

Gordon said the three main goals of the seminar were to update police officers on new laws that pertain to the LGBT community, inspire officers to reflect on their respective departments to measure whether they are “gay friendly” and to humanize the LGBT community.

“Most people either know and quite possibly love someone who is gay or lesbian,” she said, “and it’s important we better understand the LGBT community,” she said.

In the morning, Sgt. Robin Heinemann, of the Concord Police Department, familiarized the officers with LGBT terms and then presented a cursory overview of LGBT history dating back to the 1940s.

Heinemann talked about a variety of issues including the extermination of gays and lesbians in Nazi concentration camps, the forming of the first gay rights organization in the 1950s, the Stonewall riots in New York and the impact of AIDS on the LGBT community during the 1980s and 1990s.

“It was during the stonewall raid that gay patrons said ‘uh uh, no more,’” and a riot ensued,” Heinemann told the audience. “And the anniversary of the riot, which occurred on June 29, 1969, is the date of gay pride parades in San Francisco, New York and several other cities.”

In the afternoon the officers attended seminars on legal updates, transgender issues and procedures when responding to same-sex domestic violence calls.

Peter King, founder and president of East Bay Pride, said the seminar would help the attendees be better police officers.

“It’s an opportunity to work with the police to help them understand that all people should be treated fairly and with understanding and compassion,” he said.

Oakland Police Officer Brad Miller said the seminar would help him with his duties as a patrol officer.

“I will be better able to respond to same-sex domestic violence calls,” Miller said. “For the first time I learned of the Pacific Center in Berkeley, a community resource I can now refer victims of domestic violence to,”

The Pacific Center for Human Growth is a nonprofit organization that provides a variety of community services to the LGBT community.

Lt. Richard Ridgeway, a 19-year veteran of the San Francisco Sheriffs’ Department, said the most amazing thing about the LGBT seminar was the fact that there was a LGBT seminar.

“I know that 10 years ago the idea of this seminar would have been laughed at,” Ridgeway said. “This is just excellent.”

As fall approaches, the demand for childcare services traditionally increases in Berkeley. But this year, more people than ever are trying to place their children – and once again childcare providers wish the state were more supportive.

At this time, dozens of Berkeley families are waiting to hear that slots have opened up for their children in one or another preschool.

Twenty names are on the Berkeley Hills Nursery School’s waiting list, two dozen are on the Dandelion Cooperative Nursery School list, and 10 families are hoping their kids can get into New School, just to mention a few examples.

“The demand is higher because we had several places closing last year,” said Suzanne Hagen, Director of New School, a non-profit institution offering preschool and after-school day care in North Berkeley. “So the spaces are fewer for children of age 2 to 5 than there has been in the past.”

In the span of one year, Berkeley lost four childcare providers, including Dragonfly Preschool, which closed its doors for

financial reasons last February and Grizzly Peak Childcare. This resulted in the loss of 66 preschool slots and 30 infant-toddler slots.

However, the shortage of childcare services is not new to Berkeley. It has been an ongoing problem for years that affects the state as a whole.

“It is a challenge statewide,” said Diane Hirshberg, a researcher at the Policy Analysis for California Education, a think tank based at UC Berkeley and Stanford University. “You’ve got to create spaces that parents can afford.”

Affordability is indeed the most critical issue, above all in the Bay Area where the cost of living is so high, experts said.

“When we started in 1973, child care was a family’s first expense,” said Betty Cohen, director of Bananas, a childcare referral and advocacy agency in Oakland. “Now it’s the second after housing.”

Like Cohen and many childcare service providers in Berkeley, Bananas program director Arlyce Currie believes that the state and federal governments should assign additional funds to early education programs.

“Parents are paying as much as they can. We need a third payer in order to create more child care and to support the system,” she said. “We need spaces, people to work in them, and we need good quality or training. Right now we’re just struggling to keep up.”

According to Alameda County childcare coordinator Angie Garling, the county currently has $150 million a year for child care subsidies. It also has a stipend program, the Child Development Corps, funded by Proposition 10 or tobacco-tax money. The program provides a stipend to childcare workers. The purpose is to retain qualified professionals in the field. But these initiatives, said Garling, are not enough.

“Across the county we have thousands of children and families who are waiting to receive subsidized child care but cannot receive it because there is not enough money,” said Garling. “The funding increased significantly when welfare reform occurred and it has slightly increased over the past five years, but it’s not even close to serve all the families who need it.”

Garling also said she worried about governor Gray Davis’ intention to reform the state’s subsidized child care programs.

“One of the possibilities,” she said, “is reducing the amount of money that providers get paid for subsidized care, which would severely threaten the quality of care that children will receive.”

To Hirshberg, addressing the shortage of child care services is a matter of time. While public schools have existed for more than a century, she said, the United States started realizing the importance of early childhood education for school readiness only three decades ago. It may therefore take some time until this realization is reflected in decision-making.

One lawmaker stuffed spinach in his milk carton. Another recalled “barfaroni” with distaste. A third learned to love liver.

Recalling their own school food experiences, Assembly Education Committee members Wednesday approved a bill that attempts to limit junk food served to elementary and middle school students.

The bill by Sen. Martha Escutia, D-Commerce, originally would have established nutritional standards for all food served in elementary, middle and high schools. However, strong opposition led Escutia to change the bill so it only affects elementary and middle schools.

Beginning in 2004, the bill would allow elementary schools to sell only full meals at breakfast and lunch, because backers say children are more likely to eat fruits and vegetables and less likely to drink sodas.

It would also require snacks sold in elementary schools during breaks to meet nutritional standards, such as no more than 35 percent of calories from fat or 35 percent of weight in sugar.

Carbonated beverages could not be sold at middle schools until after lunch.

The bill would also increase state funds for meals for poor children from 13 cents to 26 cents, also beginning in 2004. High schools that chose to participate in the bill’s restrictions could also get the funding increase.

Supporters said recent studies have shown that more than 30 percent of California youth are overweight.

“It’s tough to teach kids when they’re not eating right,” said Bill Collins of the California Teachers Association.

“Parents need to count on the state not to subject their elementary and middle school kids to junk foods,” said Michael Butler of the California State Parent Teachers Association.

Schools, however, have had to rely on selling “a la carte” items beyond meals to raise money, said Gary Conover of the School Food Service Association. The state reimbursement has stayed the same since 1980 and should be 45 cents a meal, he said.

And Bob Achermann of the California Nevada Soft Drink Association opposed the restrictions on soda sales in middle schools.

“We don’t think it’s fair to demonize soft drinks in this debate,” he said. “Soft drinks can be part of a balanced diet.”

Assemblyman Mark Wyland, R-Escondido, said he usually prefers letting local school districts make such decisions, but nutrition in schools is “out of control.”

Schools serve pizza and hot dogs day after day, he said, recalling his own school days of being forced to eat spinach and hiding it in his milk cartons.

Assemblyman Tom Calderon, D-Montebello, said districts need to serve nutritious yet appetizing meals that teachers will eat to set an example.

“They’re still serving that ’barfaroni’ they served when I was in school,” he said.

Assemblywoman Lynne Leach, R-Walnut Creek, opposed the bill, saying districts should be allowed to make the decisions themselves.

Leach, who didn’t vote on the bill, recalled a talented cafeteria manager in her school days who turned her into “a liver lover in high school.”

SAN FRANCISCO — Nine unions representing workers at Safeway and Albertson’s stores in Northern California are in negotiations with the companies regarding new contracts – with a possible strike looming in the background.

The supermarkets have put up signs advertising for help in the event of a strike, which could involve as many as 22,000 workers in stores from Fresno and San Francisco to the Oregon border.

“We are preparing for a possible labor dispute,” said Debra Lambert, Safeway’s national spokeswoman. “We’ve posted signs in stores for temporary replacement workers.”

United Food and Commercial Workers’ officials said they are requesting wage increases of a minimum of $1 an hour to offset the area’s high housing costs, as well as the maintenance of pension and health benefits.

“Economics are a huge part of the negotiations,” said union spokesman Ron Lind.

“The stores have been touting a recent contract agreement which had a 50-cent (per hour) wage increase. That type of increase isn’t going to be enough.”

The high cost of living in the Bay Area and other parts of Northern California is a major concern for the workers, according to union consultant Phil Tucker.

The union also is requesting that some part-time jobs be turned into full-time jobs, Lind said.

Lambert would not discuss details of a possible contract proposal, but said prior settlements, such as the 50-cent agreement recently reached with Local 588, do “typically set precedent.”

In 1997, the Local 588 contract was ratified by Bay Area unions, Lambert said.

Northern California unions did not ratify the most recent Local 588 contract, which was agreed upon in July.

Current contracts expire Sept. 1, but Tucker said the deadline could be extended indefinitely. depending on when the companies present proposals and when the unions vote on them.

“Negotiations are ongoing,” said Lind. “A strike this weekend is unlikely. But we are prepared if the stores’ proposals are unsatisfactory.”

SACRAMENTO — Democrats proposed new districts Wednesday that would probably allow them to maintain their overwhelming majority in the state Assembly for the next decade.

But the plan would also strengthen the GOP’s hold on its seats.

“What you are going to find is this cements in place essentially the (results) of the 2000 election,” said Tony Quinn, a political analyst and former Republican consultant on redistricting. “It reduces considerably any competitive districts.

“It certainly is an incumbent plan. It has a lot of bipartisan characteristics.”

The Assembly plan is the first of a series of redistricting proposals that lawmakers are expected to unveil this week. Plans for the state Senate and California’s congressional delegation could be released Thursday.

Lawmakers are required to draw new districts for the Legislature and the congressional delegation every 10 years to reflect population changes revealed by the federal census.

Democrats currently hold 50 of the Assembly’s 80 seats, and the plan released Wednesday would create 50 districts with Democratic pluralities or majorities, including an open seat covering Imperial County and part of Riverside County that was recast to favor Democrats.

“I think we will retain 50 seats in the immediate future,” said the chairman of the Assembly elections committee, Democrat John Longville of Rialto. “It’s certainly possible to forecast (beyond that). Whether those predictions are accurate is something else again.”

Democrats could conceivably win 51 seats next year if they can take the new Riverside-Imperial district and retain a San Diego-area district that is split almost evenly between Republicans and Democrats.

That San Diego seat is now held by Democrat Howard Wayne, who is barred from running for re-election by term limits. Assembly Minority Leader Dave Cox, R-Fair Oaks, said Republicans were still analyzing the plans, but Longville predicted that most Republican lawmakers would end up supporting it.

“We attempted to take into account the expressed concerns and wishes of members of the Republican Party,” he said.

Democrats would need the votes of at least four Republicans to pass the plan with a two-thirds majority and prevent the GOP from asking voters to overturn it.

Assembly Speaker Robert Hertzberg, D-Van Nuys, said the plan was still open for negotiations, calling it a “work in progress” that could be modified after the Assembly holds hearings on it next week.

Kathay Feng, an attorney at the Asian Pacific American Legal Center in Los Angeles, said groups representing Asians and Pacific Islanders might challenge the plan in court if there are no changes.

She said the plan was a “good first step” but that some districts in the San Francisco and San Diego areas should be altered to avoid splitting up voters of Asian or Pacific Islander heritage.

“We are willing to work with the Assembly before this map goes to votes to see how many of our concerns are addressed...,” she said. “If there’s absolutely no change, there are some significant communities that will be forced to consider legal action.”

Amadis Velez, redistricting coordinator for the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, said his group also might go to court if there are not changes in the plan bolstering the political clout of Latino communities.

Groups representing Hispanics and Asians and Pacific Islanders have proposed their own plans for redrawing Assembly districts.

Democrats control redistricting this year because of their big majorities in the state Senate and Assembly and the presence of Democrat Gray Davis in the governor’s office, and they could use that clout to try to draw districts that increase their numbers in Sacramento and Washington.

But they said that tactic could backfire by spreading loyal Democratic voters too thinly and increasing chances of Republican gains.

Longville said many districts had to be changed significantly because of uneven growth in the state in the last decade and because of requirements of federal law to maintain minority voting power.

Under the Democrats’ plan the biggest change apparently would take place in Southern California and involve the 64th District, now a Republican stronghold in western Riverside County represented by Assemblyman Rod Pacheco, R-Riverside, who is termed out next year.

The Democrats want to move that district to the south and east to include all of Imperial County and the most of eastern Riverside County, including Palm Springs and Indio.

Democrats would make up just over 47 percent and Republicans about 35 percent of the new district’s voters. In the current district, Republicans have nearly a 46 percent-to-38-percent edge.

WALNUT CREEK — A survey of more than 21,000 patients, who had spent at least one night in one of 113 California hospitals from August through October 2000, measured their perceptions of how well caretakers handled their pain, education and emotional support.

Of the 17 East Bay’s hospitals in the survey, only ValleyCare in the Tri Valley and the San Ramon medical center scored above the survey’s average.

Only the opinions of surgery, maternity, and general medical patients were assessed. The results are to be posted on the Internet at www.chcj.org.

The survey was conducted by the California Institute for Health Systems Performance and the California HealthCare Foundation. Hospitals participating in the survey did so voluntarily and represented about 30 percent of California’s acute care hospitals.

Residents want more time to speak out on cleanup

CONCORD — Residents asked the Environmental Protection Agency and the Navy on Tuesday night to allow more time for public comment on a federal pact signed recently by the two agencies for the cleanup of the Concord Naval Weapons Station.

The agreement sets up a regulatory framework and enforceable deadlines for the Superfund cleanup of the 13,000-acre site. By law, the pact can only be finalized when a 30-day public comment period ends.

Some of the work includes capping an old landfill, cleaning ground water and removing contaminated soil. The property’s soil, sediments and surface water are contaminated with pesticides and heavy metals such as zinc, arsenic, copper and lead, according to the EPA. The weapons station was designated a Superfund site in 1994.

EPA officials said they would grant a 30-day extension on the public comment period – originally scheduled to end Sept. 10 – but added that such an action only delays the EPA’s ability to light a fire under the Navy’s cleanup efforts.

The Navy has been cleaning up the site since 1980. The work has cost $49 million, according to the Navy. About $10 million to $15 million more is needed to complete and monitor future cleanup of the site.

School board members recalled in vote

EMERYVILLE — Residents voted Tuesday night to recall three school board members who presided over the debt-ridden district before the state stepped in this month.

Two leaders of the recall initiative, Art Hoff and Forrest Gee, as well as social worker Valerie Patton, will replace Emery Unified School trustees Barbara Krzywicki, Gladys Vance and Donald Dorsey, according to the Alameda County registrar of voters.

Although the results will not be certified until Tuesday, each of the trustees was recalled by at least 85 percent of the voters who turned out.

The newly elected trustees will serve in an advisory role to a state-appointed administrator overseeing the state’s $2.3 million bailout of the district.

With only 900 students enrolled in kindergarten through 12th grade, Emery Unified is one of the smallest school districts in California.

WASHINGTON — At least 40,000 federal tax returns and payments involving $810 million were either lost or destroyed at a Pittsburgh processing facility.

Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont., said Wednesday a previous estimate of 1,800 lost or destroyed payments was “only a small fraction” of the actual total now acknowledged by the Internal Revenue Service.

“It may be six months or more before the scope and magnitude of this problem is fully known,” Baucus said.

The tax returns and payments were sent by taxpayers in New England and parts of New York this year to a Pittsburgh lockbox run by Mellon Bank under a contract with the federal government. Earlier this month, Mellon lost its contract to run the facility following what the bank’s chairman called “gross disregard” and failure to follow company policy by some employees.

The IRS and the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration are investigating the incident, which Baucus said appears to be confined to the Pittsburgh facility. IRS officials declined comment Wednesday on the probe but said they are working with taxpayers to address any problems.

It remains a mystery exactly what happened to the returns and payments or whether the incident was deliberate or a mistake. All that investigators or Mellon Bank will say publicly is that it does not appear to be a case of identity theft, stolen checks or disclosure of sensitive taxpayer information.

Mellon’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Martin McGuinn, said in an e-mail that “several” bank employees were fired after an internal probe found taxpayer submissions that were “hidden, and in some cases, destroyed.”

Loss of the contract resulted in layoffs of 106 other employees.

The investigation began after taxpayers began contacting the IRS when their payment checks had failed to clear. Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., said the agency has now received 22,000 complaints of uncashed checks.

Affected taxpayers submitted tax returns and payments this year to the Pittsburgh lockbox from Connecticut, Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and parts of New York outside of New York City and Nassau, Rockland, Suffolk and Westchester counties.

Also potentially affected were taxpayers from those areas who submitted estimated tax payments and those who made payments along with a request for an extension to file their returns.

Baucus said “an untold number” of taxpayers likely aren’t even aware that their returns and checks were lost or destroyed. He recommended they review bank records to determine if any check sent to the IRS failed to clear.

The IRS has already set up a special unit to handle these cases. Taxpayers who suspect they may be affected should call the agency at 1-800-829-1040. The IRS is asking them to stop payment on the uncashed check and send a new return and check to the IRS service center in Andover, Mass.

The IRS will treat a replacement check and return as filed on time from affected taxpayers, meaning they won’t owe any penalties or interest. Taxpayers can also get reimbursed by the IRS for any bank fees by filing IRS Form 8546. ————

WASHINGTON — Help is coming for the Tumbling Creek cavesnail, relegated to a single cave in Missouri; for Washington state’s showy stickseed herb; for the Mississippi gopher frog, found only in the state’s Harrison County; and for the remaining dozens of pygmy rabbits.

The Interior Department said Wednesday it has negotiated a deal to avert a legal challenge from three conservation groups by speeding up federal protection for those four species and 25 other rare creatures and plants.

Under the agreement, Interior’s Fish and Wildlife Service will review three species immediately – the cavesnail, pygmy rabbit and the Carson wandering skipper butterfly, found only in California and Nevada – as emergency candidates for the endangered and threatened species lists.

The agency said it will make final decisions on 14 other species and map critical habitats for another eight species, including the Gila chub in New Mexico and Arizona, and for four freshwater snails in New Mexico. The fate of the Gila chub, a small fish, already is the subject of a lawsuit.

In addition, the agency promised to issue findings within a year on four other species that groups have petitioned to have listed as endangered or threatened and their critical habitats defined.

“I hope this can be a model for future agreements,” said Interior Secretary Gale Norton. Her department includes the Fish and Wildlife Service, which oversees protection programs for inland fish and land species.

The preliminary agreement would head off expected lawsuits by the Center for Biological Diversity, Southern Appalachian Biodiversity Project and the California Native Plant Society.

A final settlement must be approved by a federal judge acting on advice from Interior and Justice Department officials.

According to Fish and Wildlife, all the species for which final listing decisions are promised face significant threats. Others among them are:

• Ohlone tiger beetle of California, found only in Santa Cruz County and thinning due to urban growth and nonnative vegetation.

• Spalding’s catchfly herb of Idaho, Oregon, Montana, Washington and British Columbia, Canada, a carnation dwindling because of habitat loss and trampling by livestock.

• San Diego ambrosia of southern California, a perennial threatened by highway construction and trampling by horses and humans.

—Mountain yellow-legged frog of southern California, mysteriously disappearing from 99 percent of its former mountain habitat possibly due to predation by trout introduced to the area or by air pollution.

—Coastal cutthroat trout of Washington and Oregon, nearly extinct in two rivers and facing habitat loss, hatcheries and overharvesting.

—Buena Vista Lake ornate shrew of California, of which only about 40 have been sighted, near Bakersfield; it is endangered by agriculture, altered stream use and possible selenium poisoning.

—Chiricahua leopard frog of Arizona and New Mexico, populations few and scattered and threatened by loss of wetlands and disease.

—Scaleshell mussel of Arkansas, Missouri and Oklahoma, found only in 13 streams along the Mississippi River basin and facing poor water quality, sand and gravel mining, reservoir construction and river dredging.

—Vermilion darter of Alabama, a small fish just 3 inches long and surviving in just 7.2 miles of creeks in Jefferson County due to altered stream use and pollutants.

—Golden sedge of North Carolina, limited to two counties and endangered by industrial development, mining and agriculture.

—Holmgren milk-vetch and Shivwits milk-vetch herbs of Utah and Arizona, found in just two counties and disturbed by urban growth, off-road vehicles and livestock grazing.

———

On the Net: Fish and Wildlife endangered species program: http://endangered.fws.gov

NEW YORK — Investors sent stocks tumbling Wednesday for a third straight session on a government report showing the economy eked out only a slim gain in the second quarter, its weakest performance in eight years.

While the economy fared better than expected – some analysts had feared it would be flat or even decline – investors weren’t comforted. After weeks of dismal earnings and negative forecasts from the nation’s biggest companies, Wall Street took the report on the gross domestic product as just another reason not to buy.

“There is no faith that things are about to improve anytime soon,” said Richard E. Cripps, chief market strategist for Legg Mason of Baltimore.

Investors were clearly disappointed by the Commerce Department’s report that the GDP – the country’s total output of goods and services – inched up just 0.2 percent in the April-June quarter.

The resulting selling was spread across the market as frustrated investors stayed away from stocks on worries that business would remain weak for the immediate future.

Caterpillar fell 97 cents to $51.17, while Gap slipped 60 cents to $19.70 after Banc of America Securities reduced its rating on the retailing stock.

Chip stocks slipped after Advanced Micro Devices warned that revenue in the current quarter would likely fall about 15 percent from the last quarter, compared to previous projections of 10 to 15 percent losses. AMD fell 66 cents to $14.20, a 4 percent loss.

Networking stock Nortel Networks fell 25 cents to $6.52 after WorldCom’s announced that it would cut its 2002 capital spending to $6 billion. WorldCom, which fell 53 cents to $12.44, is one of Nortel’s most important customers.

Also Wednesday, Microsoft lost 45 cents to $60.29 on news that the Justice Department had asked the new judge in its antitrust case against the software company to discuss a schedule for moving the case along.

There were a few modest winners. Among them was Gateway, which inched up 19 cents to $8.79 after announcing a restructuring plan late Tuesday.

The computer maker plans to cut 25 percent of its global work force and shutter operations in Asia.

But analysts said Wednesday’s session mostly reflected the ambivalence that has come to characterize Wall Street amid unending indications of weak business and a struggling economy.

All three indexes remain well below where they started 2001: the Dow down 6 percent, the Nasdaq off 25 percent and the S&P off 13 percent.

And the market’s attempts to rally have fizzled as investors, unconvinced that tough times are over, have cashed in their profits after every advance.

After months of being burned by stocks that can’t seem to hold their gains, many investors are simply staying out of the market.

Two announcements after the market closed gave them little incentive to act otherwise. Fiber optics manufacturer Corning said it was cutting 1,000 jobs because of a seen a sudden slowing in orders across all fiber product lines. The stock was down 78 cents, or 5.3 percent, to finish at $13.82 in extended trading, after a regular session loss of 79 cents.

And Sun Microsystems said it is unlikely it will break even in the first quarter because of soft business. The maker of computer storage and other products dropped 83 cents in the Nasdaq’s late session to finish at $12.60, after a 13-cent decline during the day.

“We still have just no real reasons for people to be aggressive here,” said Todd Clark, co-head of trading at WR Hambrecht, who also attributed some of the slack to low volume ahead of the Labor Day holiday.

Declining issues outnumbered advancers nearly 4 to 3 on the New York Stock Exchange. Consolidated volume came to 1.17 billion shares, compared with 1.18 billion Tuesday.

The Russell 2000 index, which tracks the performance of smaller company stocks, fell 0.86 to 473.34.

WASHINGTON — The nation’s economy inched ahead in the spring at the slowest pace in eight years. Still, the fact that there was any growth at all fueled hope that the economy may be ready to begin climbing again – without tipping into recession.

Gross domestic product – the country’s total output of goods and services – grew at an annual rate of 0.2 percent in the April-June quarter, according to revised figures released by the Commerce Department Wednesday. That’s a lower estimate than the 0.7 percent growth rate the government reported a month ago.

Even so, the second-quarter performance was better than most analysts were forecasting. Some predicted the economy would stall, while others thought it would slip into reverse, possibly signaling the start of the first recession in the United States in 11 years.

A recession is usually defined as two consecutive quarters of shrinking GDP.

“We stayed on the right side of the ledger,” said Bill Cheney, chief economist at John Hancock Financial Services. “I think ... that we’re more likely to find our way back to safer ground than we are to tumble over the edge.”

But on Wall Street, the slim gain didn’t cheer investors. The Dow Jones industrial average lost 131.13 points to close at 10,090.90.

Many analysts believe the second quarter will prove to have been the point that the economy showed the greatest danger of dipping into a recession. They predict the economy will rebound to around a 2 percent growth rate in the current quarter and to around 3 percent to 3.5 percent in the fourth quarter.

Private economists and the Bush administration are counting on nearly $40 billion in tax rebate checks and the aggressive credit easing by the Federal Reserve to lift the economy to higher growth rates in the second half of this year.

“I’m optimistic — there are some good signs out there,” said Commerce Secretary Don Evans, adding that consumer spending and the housing market have held up during the yearlong slowdown.

To fight off a possible downturn, the Fed has slashed interest rates seven times this year, with the most recent cut coming last week. Economists believe the Fed might reduce rates again in October.

One of the main reasons for the lower estimate of second-quarter GDP is that companies did a better job liquidating their inventories than previously estimated. Inventory reduction was valued at $38.4 billion in the second quarter, the biggest decline since the first quarter of 1983. That subtracted 0.4 percentage point from GDP.

While inventory reduction subtracts from GDP, economists say excess inventories must be whittled before companies can ramp up production, something that would bode well for economic growth down the road.

“Most of the required inventory liquidation is now behind us, and as a result, the economy now is in a better position to recover over the next several months,” said Lynn Reaser, chief economist at Banc of America Capital Management.

Another reason for the downward revision was that the trade deficit was slightly worse because exports fell more than previously thought, reducing second quarter GDP by 0.3 percent percentage point.

Still, much of the overall weakness in the second quarter continued to come from companies cutting back sharply in their investment in plants and equipment in the face of weak sales and plunging profits.

U.S. companies reduced such investment in the second quarter at a rate of 14.6 percent, the worst showing since the second quarter of 1980. The new estimate was weaker than the 13.6 percent rate of decline previously estimated.

The reduction in spending on computers and software in the second quarter was an even sharper rate of 15.1 percent, versus the 14.5 percent rate of decline initially thought.

Spending on new factories and office buildings fell at rate of 13.4 percent.

Wednesday’s report also showed that after-tax profits of U.S. corporations fell by 2 percent in the second quarter, an improvement over the 7.8 percent decline in the first quarter.

Consumers were the primary force keeping the country out of recession. Consumer spending, which accounts for two-thirds of total economic activity, rose at an annual rate of 2.5 percent in the second quarter, stronger than the 2.1 percent rate originally estimated.

Also helping was a 5.8 percent rate of increase in residential construction, a sector that has remained strong, helped by falling interest rates.

While second-quarter growth remained positive, the rate of expansion was the weakest since a 0.1 percent rate of decline in the first quarter of 1993, and it trailed the 1.3 percent growth rate posted in the first three months of the year.

“The economy stayed out of negative territory, and, if anything, that should have some positive psychological impact for consumers and businesses,” said Ken Mayland of ClearView Economics.

———

On the Net:

Commerce Department GDP report: http://www.bea.doc.gov/bea/dn1.htm

Opinion

Editorials

OAKLAND — The tentative agreement that averted a possible BART strike will give the transit system’s workers wage and pension increases of more than 20.5 percent over four years, a union leader said Tuesday.

“It’s not an overly generous proposal by the district,” said Bob Smith, president of the Amalgamated Transit Union, ”but we’re satisfied.”

Union members, who were prepared to walk off the job at midnight Wednesday, now are expected to vote on the new contract Sunday or Monday.

The unions were seeking a 20.5 percent wage increase over three years, and BART was offering an 18.5 percent raise over four years. Smith would not say exactly how much higher than 20.5 percent the agreed-upon raise would be.

“In working hard to come to an agreement to serve the public, both parties found they needed to move to come to a settlement,” said Dorothy Dugger, BART’s deputy general manager.

“I’m certainly very hopeful that the members will ratify this agreement,” Smith said.

Unions and BART officials credited the tentative settlement in large part to the intervention of Bay Area legislators. San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown, Oakland Mayor Jerry Brown and state Sens. Don Perata, D-Oakland, and Tom Torlakson, D-Martinez, stepped into negotiations Monday night in an effort to prevent a strike that could have crippled the area’s already nightmarish commute.

“They brought a new dynamic to the table, which helped us reach the tentative framework for a settlement,” said BART spokesman Mike Healy. “We’re relieved we have come to an agreement, and we’re pleased a strike has been averted.”

BART’s last strike was in 1997. Perata said it would have been damaging to “the public’s goodwill if there was a second strike in four years.”

BART initially offered an 11.5 percent pay increase over four years, but boosted it on Friday to 18.5 percent. Over the weekend, the unions reduced their request for improved salaries and benefits from 27 percent over three years to 20.5 percent.

Commuters riding BART on Tuesday morning said they are relieved they may not have to resort to such alternatives as shuttle buses, ferries and carpools, had there been a strike. About 335,000 people use BART each weekday.

“It would have been a slow commute,” said Jack Glaser, a professor of public policy and psychology who rides BART from San Francisco to his job at University of California, Berkeley.

WASHINGTON — Caught between setbacks and opportunity, union officials think aggressive politics on issues including immigration, trade, workers’ rights and the minimum wage could help build the resurgence they have sought unsuccessfully for years.

“Unions have more relevance than ever,” said Teamsters President James P. Hoffa. “They’re playing an ever-increasing role in national elections and in directing the debate on the way this country is going.”

But union membership has slid despite all the talk and effort toward revival. Thousands of jobs have been lost to the faltering economy. The newly installed Bush administration attacked labor’s agenda on such issues as workplace safety regulations and union partnerships with government.

The Teamsters and some skilled-trades unions have managed to skirt the administration as an obstacle by joining forces with Republicans on some issues.

The promise of new jobs prompted them to back President’s Bush’s plan to open Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil drilling despite opposition from labor’s traditional Democratic and environmental allies. The coalition even managed to carry along a reluctant AFL-CIO, which had hoped to stay on the sidelines.

Bush was the first president in 30 years to visit a steel mill. He was welcomed by the United Steelworkers of America, which praised him for launching an investigation of foreign steel imports — something the union did not get from the Clinton administration.

Even the economic uncertainty holds opportunity for labor. An Associated Press poll last week found that Americans by a 2-1 margin have grown more sympathetic to unions over the past couple of years in labor-business disputes.

It’s now or never for unions to boost their numbers, said Lawrence Lorber, a Washington labor lawyer who was a deputy assistant labor secretary under President Ford.

“If people are uncertain, that is when unions get the best opportunity to make their presence felt,” he said.

The percentage of American workers belonging to unions fell last year to 13.5 percent, the lowest in six decades, according to the Labor Department. Union officials blamed a decline in heavily unionized industries, accompanied by job growth in nonunion parts of the economy.

Among the big issues and campaigns that unions are tackling:

• Immigration. The AFL-CIO, eager to reverse declining membership, last year abandoned its stance that immigrants were a threat to American jobs and started reaching out to them. Unions including the Hotel and Restaurant Employees, Service Employees International and United Farm Workers are pressing for legalization of illegal immigrants. Their campaign heats up this week during Bush’s meeting with visiting Mexican President Vicente Fox.

• Fast track. Unions have generated advertising and thousands of phone calls, letters and e-mail messages to Congress against giving Bush increased trade authority. The effort will be stepped up this week with bus tours to factories in Alabama and California, and later in Indiana and Texas.

• Mexican trucks. Bush wants unlimited access throughout the United States by Mexican trucks beginning Jan. 1. The Teamsters and AFL-CIO have been running ads opposing an open border. The fight moves to the House.

• Ergonomics. Unions are awaiting a decision by Labor Secretary Elaine Chao this month on whether she will pursue a new regulation aimed at reducing workplace injuries or take a voluntary approach. Congress earlier this year repealed Clinton-era regulations that unions fought to keep.

• Scalia: Organized labor opposes the nomination of Eugene Scalia, son of Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, to be the Labor Department’s top lawyer because of some of his views, including support for repealing the workplace regulations. His Senate confirmation hearing is Sept. 20.

• Right to Work: Unions have sent dozens of workers to Oklahoma to help oppose a Sept. 25 voter referendum that would ban labor contracts that require all workers of a particular company to pay union dues or their equivalent.

• Nissan: The United Auto Workers are seeking an organization vote among workers at a Nissan factory in Smyrna, Tenn., — the first such election in a dozen years at a foreign-owned auto plant.

• Minimum wage: With the Senate in Democratic hands, there are plans to take up a bill this fall to raise the $5.15 hourly minimum wage.

OAKLAND – A developer is proposing a $45 million tram system to connect Alameda’s former Navy base to the West Oakland BART station.

Randy Woolwine, a vice president with Doppelmayr, the company that would build the system, said it will be faster than driving.

The sky gondolas would go up within five years, with 200 high-speed trams.

But the project has numerous hurdles, including approval by at least eight agencies. It must also consider how the 300-foot towers would affect birds such as peregrine falcons, red tail hawks and the protected California least tern.

WASHINGTON — The share of HIV infections that are drug-resistant will jump to 42 percent in San Francisco by 2005, according to a team of researchers.

Estimating the current rate of drug resistance at 28.5 percent, the group used a mathematical formula to calculate its likely increase over the next few years.

HIV, human immunodeficiency virus, is the agent that causes AIDS.

The work of the team, led by Dr. Sally M. Blower of the University of California at Los Angeles, is published in Friday’s issue of the journal Nature Medicine.

The scientists calculated the increase in drug-resistant HIV since 1997 and used that to extend their forecast into the future.

The primary reason for the increase, they said, is the development of drug resistance in the virus during treatment. The transmission of drug-resistant strains remains low, they said, estimating that it will account for just 16 percent of new HIV cases by 2005.

“The good news is that transmission of drug-resistant HIV will not become a major public health problem,” Blower said in a statement. “The bad news is that the prevalence of drug-resistant HIV is already high and will continue to substantially increase.”

A complex combination of drugs is used to treat the disease, but this therapy demands a complicated dosage regimen that is difficult to maintain and often causes severe side effects.

According to the researchers, some physicians may unwittingly contribute to the drug-resistant epidemic if they don’t recognize the risks associated with incorrect use of the medications.

“These drugs are as dangerous as chemotherapy,” said Dr. James Kahn of the University of California at San Francisco, a co-author of the paper. “General practitioners should not be using them. You really need a skilled HIV specialist to prescribe the medications and closely monitor the patient’s adherence and response to treatment.”

In a commentary on the paper, Andrew Phillips of the Royal Free and University College Medical School in London said the findings shed light on a troublesome issue “and strategies must be developed and applied now if we are to preserve AIDS therapies for the future.”

In their paper, the California team recommends steps to minimize drug-resistant HIV.

• Delay drug treatment as long as possible in order to maximize the medical benefit and reduce side effects and the likelihood of developing drug resistance.

• Create clinical centers of excellence for HIV/AIDS treatment to ensure proper use of drugs and limit the rate of acquired resistance.

• Develop therapies that are more effective for treating patients with drug-resistant viral strains.

Reduce the amount of time a drug-resistant patient is on ineffective treatment.

Police and fire officials in Berkeley say that a small fire at a University of California fraternity on Tuesday was caused by lights that were being used to grow hydroponic marijuana.

According to Debra Pryor, deputy chief of the Berkeley Fire Department, the fire was reported at about 2:20 a.m. Tuesday at the Zeta Psi fraternity, at 2728 Bancroft Way.

The fire started in a second story closet. It activated the sprinklers and caused $10,000 in water damage. Pryor said all of the building's occupants got out safely and there were no injuries reported.

The cause of the fire has been determined to be electrical in nature, Pryor said, from the lights that were being used to grow the plants.

Police spokeswoman Lt. Cynthia Harris said several marijuana plants were found inside the closet, but would not comment further on the case.

Police have identified a suspect, but the name is not being released, Harris said, and added that the matter was sent to the Alameda County District Attorney's Office earlier this week for possible charging.

Janet Gilmore, spokeswoman for the UC Berkeley, said she couldn't

provide specific details about the case, but noted that the student code of conduct prohibits drug use, manufacture and growth.

She added that this case has been referred to the university's judicial council for review.

SAN FRANCISCO — A federal grand jury has indicted three executives of a Marin County electronics firm, accusing them of illegally selling gear to India that could be used to make nuclear weapons, prosecutors said Wednesday.

The indictment charges that the executives of Berkeley Nucleonics Corp. of San Rafael conspired to sale and sold nuclear pulse generators to India without the federal government’s permission between 1999 and 2000. The generators emit electrical pulses and can be used to calibrate radar and nuclear instruments with military applications.

The firm is among a growing number of companies under fire for exporting to blacklisted countries.

The list of export violators in recent years includes big-named companies like IBM, Dell Computers, Compaq, Gateway and Alcoa.

Not long ago, export sanctions applied to just a small number of countries, but the list has broadened during the past five years to include 50 countries. India and Pakistan were added after they conducted nuclear tests in 1998.

Named in the Marin County indictment were company president David Brown, marketing director Richard Hamilton and Vincent Delfino, Berkeley Nucleonics’ former operation manager.

In an interview, Hamilton said the company did not know about the restrictions on exports to India, which were imposed during the Clinton administration when India and Pakistan refused to agree to nonproliferation treaties.

“We did not have the resources to know about it at the time,” Hamilton said. He said the company had a history of selling such devices to India.

Neither Brown nor Delfino were available for comment.

A court appearance has not been set, said Matthew Jacobs, a Justice Department spokesman, who declined further comment.

The government began building its case in 1999 after agents of the Commerce Office of Export Enforcement posed as exporters in a sting operation, according to court documents.

The indictment accuses the company of shipping the devices to India’s Bhaba Atomic Research Center and the Nuclear Power Corp., both divisions of India’s Department of Atomic Energy.